


Zootopia: Thicker Than Blood

by aemx



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Best Friends, Crime Fighting, F/M, Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Interspecies Relationship(s), Interspecies Romance, Relationship(s), Romance, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-24
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-07-26 09:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 234,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7569217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aemx/pseuds/aemx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Beginning with a peek at Nick's Academy training and graduation, this story will contain over-arching slices of life with Nick and Judy and their budding friendship that becomes more than either ever expected. There will be crimes to solve, both big and small, general life on the beat, and a look into their daily domestic lives. </p><p>Overall tone will match the movie. This story is lighthearted and mostly fluff and humor based with sprinkles of action. Also 100% emerald, amethyst, and orbs free.</p><p>The cover art can also be viewed at my DA gallery at http://animemagix.deviantart.com</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. D.I.F.H.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is also my very first attempt ever at writing a fanfic or a long creative writing project in general. I will do my best to stick with established and deleted concepts/lore and information learned from various materials such as the directors' twitter, art books, short comics, and crime files mobile game, etc.
> 
> Please feel free to comment, criticize, and critique anything in the work. Feedback will always be appreciated.

Judy Hopps, Zootopia’s first rabbit police officer, was laying in her hospital bed after getting her leg wound cleaned and dressed. Her fox friend, Nick Wilde, had accompanied her in the medical bus to the Zootopia Downtown Medical Center and stayed by her side for the entire afternoon. Despite being grateful for his company, she insisted he go home and rest. He finally relented and said to contact him later. 

She sat looking out the window of her room when a light knocking sound pulled her out of her thoughts. Standing in the doorway to her room, was a large cape buffalo, the Zootopia Police Department Precinct One’s Chief.

Ears perked skyward and she quickly sat up, “Chief Bogo!”

The Chief approached and stood by her bedside, “Hopps. How is your injury?”

“The doctor told me there’s no infection and that I will have to be off my feet for a few days. Nothing serious, Sir.”

“Good.” Bogo reached into one of his pockets and held out his hoof with a tiny badge resting in his palm. “We will need you back when you are ready, Officer.”

The rabbit’s violet eyes lit up and gently picked up her old badge and held it in both paws. Judy’s eyes began to water. She smiled at him and made herself hop out of bed to hug her chief. Bogo looked slightly uncomfortable at the gesture but placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Once she let go, he nodded and turned to let her rest. As he stood in the doorframe, he paused for a moment without looking back, “Don’t make it a habit of ‘misplacing’ your badge, Hopps.”

“Yes, Sir!”

As Bogo was leaving, Judy’s doctor, a boar was coming in to check on his patient and they stopped in front of one another. The doctor recognized the Chief of the ZPD.

“Ah, Chief Bogo. Checking in on your officer?”

“Yes Doctor. Please keep me updated on the status of her recovery.”

The doctor nodded and entered the room with his clipboard in hand.

* * *

Nicholas P. Wilde found himself finally waking up in the early afternoon the next day once the warm midday sunlight crept its way through the old dirty skylights above him. Rising from his bundled collection of old blankets and a single large dusty pillow, he reached over to grab his phone and check the time. 1:39 PM. He unlocked his phone to check for unread messages. There were several, all from a single bunny, his new best friend, Judy Hopps.

He squinted his groggy eyes and began to read them.

[Judy:] “Hi Nick, it’s Judy! They released me from the hospital soon after you left. Thank you for staying with me, I really appreciated it.”

[Judy:] “I am back at my apartment now. I have to wait a few days before they reinstate me back into the ZPD and Chief Bogo wants me to rest my leg before I come back into active duty. He actually stopped by and gave me my badge! I feel so excited and restless. I told him I could do paperwork but Bogo refused. I hope you are doing well.”

[Judy:] “Call or text me whenever you feel like it. I am gonna try to get some more rest. TTYL!”

Judy’s last text ended with a goofy carrot emoji, bringing a smile to Nick’s face. He quickly got dressed in his usual ensemble of a collared floral green pawaiian shirt, his prized blue tie with purple stripes, and brown khakis.

Reaching over to a small dusty box, he picked up a small red handkerchief that he briefly thumbed in his hand, before stuffing it into one of his pant pockets. He lifted his phone again and flicked through his contacts, clicking on the image of a small tan fennec fox.

“Nick.” A deep baritone voice answered after a few rings.

“Finn! How is my favorite goofy little stinker?” Nick asked nonchalantly. 

“Shut up, Wilde. You’re up late today. You ready to get hustling?”

“Actually, I need to ask you for a ride.” He paused. “I need a lift to the ZPD Headquarters in Downtown.”

Nick should have anticipated the extremely loud reply that came screaming from his phone as he recoiled back, ears flat, “You want me to take you WHERE!?”

After several minutes of pleading and convincing, Finnick finally relented, picked up Nick, and drove him to his destination. The two foxes drove in silence most of the way and Finnick stopped about a block away from the ZPD Headquarters.

“No VIP service, Finn?” Nick asked with a side glanced smirk to his business partner.

“I ain’t driving up to a building full of cops, Wilde. Get your tail out and walk the rest of the way,” the fennec growled behind his giant sunglasses.

“Still appreciate it, big guy. I love ya, I owe ya,” the red fox exclaimed as he jumped out. 

“Whatever,” was Finnick’s only reply as he quickly gunned it out of there, causing the old van to backfire like a loud gunshot and drove away.

Walking the remainder of the way, Nick soon found himself standing at the steps that led to the large circular entrance with the words POLICE mounted up top. He pushed through the rotating doors and looked around at the large and spacious reception area. Several mammals and officers bustled about their business.

Memories of his last visit came flooding back in. The press conference after they found the missing mammals. When Judy revealed she wanted him to be her partner and gave him a ZPD application and the carrot pen that contained his admission to felony tax evasion. When she had unintentionally said some bigoted statements that sparked citywide predator/prey tension and hurt his feelings. When he angrily returned his filled application after lashing out at her to test her fear of him and she had reflexively reached for that fox repellent. When he stormed out after crumpling that fake junior detective badge that was stuck to his shirt pocket with an aching pain in his heart.

Nick pulled himself back from his reverie and leveled his eyes to the large bubbly cheetah sitting directly across from him at the reception desk. With hands in his pockets he approached the desk and glanced up at the nameplate. 

“Hey Officer Clawhauser!” Nick greeted while taking his hands out of his pockets and placed them behind his back. “May I have a moment of your time?”

Benjamin Clawhauser had just finished devouring a glazed donut when he looked towards the voice that greeted him with a warm smile, “Hello there Sir!”

He paused for a moment as a realization dawned on his muzzle, “Sir… you look familiar. Oh. Em. Goodness, are you Judy Hopps’ friend? The fox who helped her with the Nighthowler case?”

“That’s me, Claws. Nick Wilde, in the fur.” Nick smirked. He liked this cheetah. “Nice to meet you.”

Clawhauser squealed and began to thank Nick profusely for helping Judy on the case and for helping her return to the force. He also asked him if he was a big fan of Gazelle. Then the cheetah realized why Nick might be visiting the station.

“Oh. Oh. Officer Hopps isn’t here today. They need to get her reinstated and she has to rest her leg injury. Chief’s orders.”

“So I’ve heard.” Nick raised his paw, “Actually, I’m here for a different reason. I would like an application form if you please.”

“REALLY!?” Clawhauser could not contain his excitement. “That’ll be wonderful! One second, let me get you a copy.”

“Thanks Claws.”

Chief Bogo was heading back to his office. He peered over the side of the railing to see Clawhauser gesturing wildly and pointing to his phone with what appeared to be a fox in a horrific green collared shirt and tie with a sheet of paper in his paws. Bogo put his glasses on and recognized the mammal. Only one fox he knew dressed so ridiculously. He made his way to his office, sat at his desk and promptly dialed to the reception desk. 

The call was picked up immediately, “Yes, Chief?”

“Clawhauser, is that fox in the lobby, Nicholas Wilde?”

“Yes sir. It is.”

“I would like to request a meeting with him. Send him up to my office,” the buffalo’s voice bellowed. It had sounded more like an order.

The cheetah turned to Nick after hanging up the phone and pointed up, “Mr. Wilde, looks like Chief Bogo would like to meet with you. His office is upstairs on the fourth floor to your right.”

“Well now, I guess I shouldn’t keep the boss man waiting, should I?” Nick smirked and took his application with him and waved goodbye to Clawhauser as he began to ascend the stairs.

After arriving on the fourth floor and making his way down the hall, Nick knocked on the large glass door with the words CHIEF BOGO sprawled across.

“Enter.” came the booming and curt reply.

The fox entered the office and took a few brief glimpses around the office, closing the door, and climbed into the large lone seat perched in front of the desk. He remembered the large cape buffalo when he had come to Judy’s defense that night in the Rainforest District after she saved his life from being mauled by a savage jaguar. Nick had spoken up for her, and refused to let her turn in her badge when he put together the pieces of how unjustly she was being treated by her boss and the entire police force.

Nick didn’t remember just how intimidating Bogo could be but he wasn’t going to let that get to him. He kept a slight smirk and maintained eye contact.

Bogo stood and put his hooves behind his back. “Mr. Wilde, I never had the chance to thank you for your help with the Missing Mammals and Nighthowler Case. I am grateful for your assistance to Officer Hopps. Without you we may not have solved this case and I would have foolishly ended the career of one of my newest promising Officers. There is always a need for good cops like her. I also apologize for my behavior towards yourself in the Rainforest District. It was unprofessional.”

Nick’s eyes went wide. He certainly had not expected this.

“Thank you, Chief. I know it’s been Officer Hopps’ dream to be a police officer. I had made some assumptions myself when she and I first met and I am happy she proved me wrong.”

Bogo sat back down, leaned forward, and gestured to Nick. “Now then. May I ask as to the purpose of your visit? If you wanted to visit Officer Hopps, she will not be back on duty for several more days.”

Nick reached back and pulled out his newly filled application, unfolded it, and placed it on the desk in front of the Chief. 

The buffalo took the form and placed his reading glasses on his snout and read the details of the form. “I see.”

Bogo took off his glasses, leaned forward, and gave Nick a very serious stare. “Tell me Wilde, why do you want to become a cop?”

Scratching his chin for a moment, Nick straightened himself and placed his hands behind his back. He was going to be honest. “Sir, Officer Hopps was the first mammal I met in many years who genuinely saw me as something more than just a sly fox. She believed in me, became my friend, and showed me real compassion. I had no direction with my life up until now. Now… I want to share in her dream. And I hope I can do so right alongside her.” 

Naturally, he had to leave out a few details such as his con artist dealings and initially being hustled into helping Judy, but he didn’t care anymore. That was in the past.

The Chief simply kept his gaze on Nick and pondered his answer for a few moments. A momentary slight upward curl appeared on his lips.

“Very good, Wilde. Then I am glad I had this printed and signed in anticipation that you might show up.”

Bogo opened a drawer and placed a sealed docket onto his desk and slid it over to Nick. “Inside is my personal letter of recommendation to the Zootopia Police Academy Administrator. This year’s cadets have already started training two weeks ago. However, we can fast track you in immediately if you are serious in applying. You will have to play a small bit of catch up.”

Nick didn’t hesitate and took the docket. “When do I start?”

“I will call the Administrator and give you two days to prepare. Then you are show up 7AM sharp at this address.” Bogo took out another piece of paper, wrote the address of the ZPA, and handed it to Nick.

After gathering his new materials, Nick slid off the chair, thanked the chief, and headed towards the door. Just as he opened the door, Bogo stood and called his attention one more time, causing the fox to pause and face him.

“Wilde. Just so you know. Only the top graduates are selected to come to Precinct One.”

The fox glanced upwards understanding the statement. That award winning smirk came right back out. “Then I will see you in nine months, Chief. Good day.” He gave a lazy salute and closed the door behind him.

Bogo, huffed through his nostrils and turned around to look out his window for a moment. “Let’s see what you're made of, fox.” He spun on his hoof and punched the intercom button.

“Clawhauser. Get the Administrator of the ZPA on the line.”

“You got it Chief!” came the jovial response.

* * *

Later that evening, Nick and Finnick sat at the bar inside of a small quaint fox dive, called “On The Leash” in the Nocturnal District. Some soft jazz music played from the nearby jukebox. The fennec fox had just downed his beer, while the red fox was simply babysitting his.

“I can’t believe you Nick. You? Turning blue? Did Sahara Square freeze over?” Finnick spat as he slammed his mug onto the counter. “Another!”

“Finn, I know this may be hard to accept, but I want to have a better purpose in life.”

“This is because of that bunny cop, ain’t it?”

Nick’s ear twitched. He felt like he detected a tiny hint of malice in the question but chose to ignore it. “Her name is Judy, Finn. And yes, she asked me to apply. She wanted me to join the ZPD and be her partner.”

Finnick kept his eyes on his refilled beer answering with a hint of snarl, “Yeah. So, you into chasing cotton tails now? What about me, Nick? I’m your friend too. And your business partner.”

With furrowed brows, Nick shot his friend a dirty look. “Yeah, you are, but I recall you leaving ‘Daddy’ all high and dry when I got hustled into helping her with her case, laughing all the way down the street.”

“Didn’t seem like you had a choice, Wilde. I give that girl props though. She hustled you good,“ Finnick laughed and noticed how Nick dodged the former part of his question.

The two foxes managed to share a chuckle, followed by a few moments of silence. Nick spun on his stool so he could face Finnick directly. “Listen, Finn. I really am thankful for everything you’ve done to help me. I am not abandoning you. This is something I just need to…I want to do.”

“Dammit, Wilde, don’t be getting all sappy on me. Save that crap for some lonely vixens.” Finnick glanced at Nick while taking another chug of his beer, paused and spoke up. “Look Nick, I wouldn’t be much of a friend if I didn’t let you do this. Just don’t become a Buster. Besides, I bet I’ll still have to come and save your tail when you get in trouble.”

Nick enjoyed himself a hearty laugh as Finnick flashed him a toothy grin, “Well, Finn. I think you’d be second string because Carrots is one tough bunny.”

“Ugh. She got nicknames too? You are becoming a sap. When do you start?”

Nick checked his phone. “Two days, 7AM sharp, at the Zootopia Police Academy.”

Finnick glared at him. “Bet you gonna want a ride there too, huh? Whatever, let’s just drink tonight. We got time for one more hustle, boy scout.”

“Deal. Drinks are on me then.”

“I won’t say no to that.” 

The two foxes toasted their mugs and ordered another round.

* * *

Judy sighed. Being bedridden was no fun for an energetic rabbit such as herself. She already read through several of her favorite novels, listened to hours of Bucky and Pronk arguing, called her parents, and did lots of stretching. Now she was just utterly bored in her tiny apartment.

She was surprised that she hadn’t received any text replies or a call from Nick since being discharged from the hospital a few days ago. She was growing a bit concerned. Perhaps he was busy. Technically, she didn’t know what he would normally be doing with his day outside of hustling unless he was back at sitting in that lawn chair under the bridge she had found him after the two of them had been apart for three months.

The rabbit smiled at the ceiling with the thoughts that she was able to find him and mend their friendship. Her phone suddenly rang and she carefully jumped up, trying not to put pressure on her injured leg. Maybe Nick was calling!

“Hi, this is Judy!” she answered with a perky voice without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello Judy. This is Dr. Borstein. I just wanted to call and schedule a follow-up with you tomorrow at noon. We want to check your wound again and if all is well, you should be able to return to work very soon.”

It took a bit of willpower for Judy to mask her disappointment. “Oh. Dr. Borstein. Thank you for calling. Yes. Yes, I can come in at that time. Great, I will see you then!”

She hung up the phone but felt her spirits lift a little bit at the thought of returning to work soon. Deciding to distract her mind further, she reached for her shelf and picked out another book and flipped to the first page.

Thursday morning hadn’t come soon enough. Somehow she had managed to sleep in a little bit later than usual. After making a late breakfast, she sat at her desk finishing the last few bites when her phone suddenly beeped.

Peering over at the screen, it said the notification was a text message. Judy quickly abandoned her food as she unlocked her phone screen and clicked on the message notification alert. Her mouth fell completely open. There on her screen was a selfie photo of Nick Wilde, with a pair of aviators resting on his head, a big stupid grin on his face, a coffee in one paw, and wearing the ZPA trainee uniform with the caption: “I make this look good, Carrots. Surprise!”

Judy squealed. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her thumbs began to furiously tap away a reply message.

“Oh, Nick! Is that where you’ve been!? I thought this year’s cadet roster was already filled! How did you get in? And when?”

The reply came fairly quickly, “Chief Buffalo-Butt got me in when I went to apply at the station a few days ago. I am lucky cadet #15. By the way, my ‘death tally’ is already up to 17. I am gonna have to figure out how to game this system. Your old Drill Sergeant says hi too. I gotta get back to it. I’ll keep in touch!”

The biggest giggle turned into a beaming smile on Judy’s face. It made her cheeks hurt. She texted back, “Good luck Nick, I know you can do it! Can’t wait to hear back from you!” Bye!”

Judy set her phone down and yelled out a loud whoop while thrusting her arms into the air. A moment later she heard a voice from behind the wall next to her bed.

“Hey Bunny, you okay over there?”

“Leave the officer alone, don’t you know she is supposed to be resting?”

“Oh shut up!”

“You shut up!”

“Shut up!”

The bunny in question just closed her eyes and tuned out her neighbors. Bucky and Pronk couldn’t sour her mood no matter how much they yelled today.

* * *

His first day of training had concluded. He was given a quick orientation, filled out his forms, outfitted with a trainee outfit, and thrown into the wolf’s den. By day’s end, Nick apparently had died 23 times according to his polar bear Drill Sergeant. At least he hadn’t fallen into the toilet. 

Soon, all the cadets were fast asleep from the all day training. Despite being exhausted and incredibly sore, Nick’s natural nocturnal tendencies were keeping him awake. Another attempt at sleep, brought a few flashbacks from the day’s training regime. The Drill Sergeant’s voice echoed in his mind.

“You’re dead, Foxtrot!”

“You’re dead, Bushy Tail!”

“You’re dead, Red Fluff!”

“You’re dead, Motor Mouth!”

“Dead! Dead! Dead!”

Nick’s eyes shot back open and he quietly sighed. It was incredible to think Judy had gone through this same training, graduating as Valedictorian, and he had told her she’d never be a real cop on the first day they had met. The fox certainly felt foolish now. Not being able to fall asleep, Nick quietly escaped the bunk area to stretch and ended up going into the cadet recreation room that was filled with quite a few amenities. He located a network printer and hooked his phone into it. 

Opening his camera app, the last photo Nick took was the one he was searching for. While staying with Judy at the hospital and with all the press of the Nighthowler case and Bellweather’s arrest, he had gotten the urge to take a victory thumbs up selfie. Judy, despite her condition, must have seen him preparing to snap the shot and somehow managed to bound her way out of the medical bed and had latched onto his neck with one paw and grabbed the phone with the other, smiling at the camera just as the photo was snapped. Nick’s mug ended up with a dual annoyed and surprised face, much to her delight afterwards.

Now he smiled at this single photo. It was the only one he had of her. He tapped the print option and the printer whirred to life and spit out the image. Cutting away the excess paper, he grabbed one of the spare pens from the small desk counter and scribbled ‘D.I.F.H.’ across the bottom of the picture under Judy’s image. He also helped himself to a few pieces of tape and some snacks and headed back to the dormitory. 

With his night vision, he didn’t need to worry about using a light and disturbing his classmates’ sleep. Back at his bunk, he taped the photo to the wall above his pillow. Pleased with himself, he lay back down and quietly ate the snacks and closed his eyes, hoping that he could at least get some rest before the next day’s grueling training session. He stole one last glance at the photo hanging above him and let sleep take away his thoughts with a smirk on his muzzle.

* * *

Judy was ecstatic to be back at the ZPD. Though she had to spend her first week doing paperwork at her desk, all of the officers in the bullpen and Clawhauser were overjoyed for her return and even hung a nice big ‘WELCOME BACK JUDY’ banner across the bullpen entrance. Bogo had even seemed to smile but it was hard to tell with his usual ‘I don’t care’ mask. 

Today, she was finally cleared for active duty by Dr. Borstein and he had notified Chief Bogo of her recovery. Coming in extra early, she stretched her leg and it felt good to be able to walk and run like normal again and headed for the bullpen.

It was lively as usual with all of the larger officers huffing and grunting, waiting for their chief to arrive. Judy took her usual seat in the front row next to Officer McHorn. This time he had a fist bump waiting for her when he saw she no longer had a limp. 

Bogo made his entrance and the grunts and excitement grew louder till they were ordered to shut it. He doled out the usual set of assignments to his officer teams, saving Judy and a few others for last.

“Welcome back to the beat, Officer Hopps,” he shot from behind his small glasses. “I am to inform you that we have put in a requisition for a custom patrol cruiser to be built to accommodate your size. It should be ready in one month’s time. In the meantime, I will be assigning you to work with Officers Fangmeyer and Grizzoli so that you can learn first hand experience on working with a partner on patrol. You will be covering Savanna Central today. Dismissed.”

Judy had to bite her lip to contain the exciting news of having her own vehicle but it couldn’t prevent her eyes from widening and ears soaring. She couldn’t wait for the chance to tell Nick about this later.

Fangmeyer who usually sat on the other side of McHorn turned to her across the now vacant seat between them. “Looks like you’re stuck with us for awhile Officer Hopps,” she said with a welcoming smile.

Grizzoli appeared from around the other side of Fangmeyer. The white timber wolf extended his paw to Judy. “Ready to go, Officer Hopps?”

The bunny shook his paw and replied, “Of course! This is going to be great!”

* * *

The following two weeks had flown by rather quickly. Judy was finishing some late night paperwork and taking notes from a few tips she continued to pick up from Fangmeyer and Grizzoli. They were both really nice to her and she enjoyed the chance to get to know more of her fellow officers.

Taking a small break to stretch herself, she remembered she hadn’t heard from Nick in some time. She sometimes wanted to send him an occasional text or email but stopped herself because she did not want to distract him from his training. She looked at the time on her phone. 10:51 PM. 

Grimacing that it might be too late to contact him. Maybe one text wouldn’t be too bad? She opened up her text app and began to thumb a message, 

“Nick! I just wanted to say hi and hope you are doing well. I know it’s late so don’t worry about replying back. I have some great news to share with you later! Bye!”

Judy had hit send and placed her phone back onto her desk. Just as she was reaching for a folder to file her paperwork in, the phone buzzed back.

“I’m awake. Doing a little bit of extra homework. I heard it builds character. But right now I’m just building a migraine.”

A small laugh escaped her mouth, and she tapped back, “You? Homework? I think I must have texted the wrong fox. Sorry!”

“Really? How many foxes do you know?”

“Oh shush, you. One too many in your case!”

“Ouch, mean bunny! So, what’s this news you wanted to tell me about? Did someone beat the new carrot eating world record in one sitting again?”

Rolling her eyes but still curling a growing smile, she began to reply, “Har. Har. No. Chief Bogo ordered a brand new patrol cruiser custom built just for me! It should be here in about two more weeks!”

“Well, that is some great news. Congrats Officer Toot-Toot. No more three wheeled jokemobile!”

That fox somehow always found a way to be irritating and sweet at the same time. Judy figured she better let Nick get back to his work. “Alright, Slick, I should let you go. It was wonderful to hear from you again.” Her paw hovered over the send button, before adding a few more words. “I miss you, Nick.”

After a brief moment the phone buzzed one last time. “Ditto, Fluff.”

* * *

The months rolled by as Nick found himself trying new ways to improve his class standing. The written exams came easy to him. He found plenty of time to study at night when nocturnal instincts battled him for sleep time. The fox also scored remarkably high on his marksman field tests as well. His biggest challenges were twofold, the physical trials and the fact that he had always been the ‘eternal shotgun friend’ which affected his scores on the driving aptitude test. He had always walked, used public transit, or bummed rides off Finnick for as long as he could remember. 

After much thought, he realized he was probably the oldest cadet as well as the smallest mammal in his class. While Judy was even smaller, she had much greater physical prowess than himself. And technically, she knew how to drive. His jaw had dropped to the ground when the Drill Sergeant had shown the class the video of her using her powerful rabbit legs and the ring ropes to redirect the sparring rhino instructor’s fist right back at him for a knockout. 

So Nick used his late nights and solo bunk bed to focus on strengthening his core and stamina. Running laps outside even in the dark, doing sit ups, pilates, pull-ups, and push-ups in the overly large bed, to build up whatever he could. He knew he could never go toe to toe with any larger mammal so he was going to have to use his wits and at least be able to keep up with his future partner. Despite the fact that his vulpine figure stayed slim and lean, he managed to build on another solid twelve pounds of toned muscle and better lung capacity from his efforts. He was not ‘dying anymore’ either during the boot camp ecosystem sessions. He was developing a new mantra from his ex-con playbook, ‘work smarter, not harder.’

Though he hadn’t managed any knockouts against his sparring partners, he now began to consistently win draws by simply outlasting or out frustrating them. Sometimes this included verbal sparring in the mix to throw them off their game, much to the amusement or ire of his peers.

His driving scores slowly improved through sheer determination and he believed he was finally on track to at least secure a top slot amongst his class. He wasn’t sure if he could get Valedictorian but at least earning second or third place should get him a consideration to Precinct One. That was his goal.

One particular evening, the fox sat around lazily reading through the ZPD officers manual at the edge of his bed. He had scored the highest marks that day at the shooting range. No one else had even come close to him for the night vision portion of the test. At least being a fox was good for something.

“Hey Nick,“ echoed a light friendly voice from his right. 

Closing his book, Nick turned to face his visitor. It was a fellow classmate who was a small framed gray timber wolf with amber eyes. 

“Hey Brian. How are ya? Need help with something?”

“Nah, I just wanted to come by and congratulate you on those scores today. Really impressive buddy,“ the wolf sincerely replied. 

Nick was still adjusting to the fact that most of his classmates actually treated him like any other mammal and were genuinely friendly to the fox. As he climbed from the bottom rung standing towards the top of his class, he figured it may have helped earn some respect amongst his fellow future police officers. Their admiration climbed even higher when it was revealed that he had assisted in the Nighthowler case, especially amongst his fellow predator classmates.

The occasional poker night he snuck in and hosted amongst them, in secret, when they had especially tough days probably didn’t hurt either. Though he suspected they didn’t like it when he kept winning all of their special snacks sent in care packages from their families. No one had gotten the opportunity to try the famous Hopps Family Farm blueberries that he had started to receive from Judy some time ago and often gloated about.

And not once did anyone accuse him of cheating either, which was another first for him. He gave a real smile back to Brian, “Thank you. That is some high praise. You did really well yourself, Nose.”

‘Nose’ was Nick’s nickname for Brian since he had the best nose by far in their class. Nick wasn’t able to compete with this wolf’s knack for finding scents.

“Gotta be good at something, right?” Brian chuckled and glanced around the room and his eyes settled on a picture of what looked like a rabbit fiercely hugging Nick. “Say, Nick, I’ve been meaning to ask. Who is the cute bunny in the picture there? That your girl?”

Nick had reached over to take a small sip of his coffee and practically spit it out when the question hit his ears. “What? Oh, no, no, that’s my best friend. And if you ever meet her, don’t call her cute. It’ll be your funeral.”

Brian simply raised an eyebrow towards Nick and inspected the photo more closely, “What’s D.I.F.H., if I may ask?”

“Do. It. For. Her.,” the fox casually stated. Not realizing how easily he opened up about that piece of information to his new friend.

“Huh? Okay, you sure she isn’t your girlfriend?” Brian laughed but looked at Nick with a teasing smile. “I must say though, she does look really familiar to me.”

Nick smirked back. A small part of him was actually caught off guard that his fellow classmate seemed to not be bothered at all at the possibility that the bunny in the photo could be with the fox sitting next to him. A Prey and a Predator. It was heartwarming to see a future fellow officer who genuinely wanted to make the world a better place. Perhaps Judy’s optimism and big heart was contagious and rolling off of him in spades. He may need to go take a shower. Or two.

“Well, that ball of fluff right there is Officer Judy Hopps. First rabbit police officer, impossible do-gooder, and non stop beacon of sunshine and rainbows,” Nick gestured with his paw. “She saved my life, Nose, in more ways than you can imagine.”

The timber wolf’s eyes shot open while his mouth hung agape, “The same rabbit we saw in the boxing video!? Oh no wonder! She was the lead officer who cracked the Missing Mammals and Nighthowler case! Ah, this all makes sense now! You’re trying to graduate to Precinct One.”

“Don’t ever let anyone tell you, that you’re just a nose, Nose. C’mon let’s go have you find us some of those hidden snacks the other guys like to stash away from us,“ Nick winked as he placed a paw on Brian’s shoulder and the two headed out of the dormitory. 

* * *

Graduation was just days away. Nick had finished the last of his exams and the cadets were allowed some free time to rest while final test results were being tallied and the ceremony was being prepared.

The classmates all huddled around one another, bantering, teasing, and having a general good time. Excitement swept the crowd. They all passed. Soon they would all get their badges and be assigned to their respective Precincts. It was announced that this year there would be a special surprise speaker. Lot’s of guesses were thrown around.

“Can’t just be the new mayor, right?”

“Nah, maybe it will be some cool special agent!”

“Oh come on, you’ve been reading way too many comics.”

“How about Gazelle?”

“What? No way…”

The ribbing continued until someone had the idea to do a final cadet group photo in their trainee outfits. They asked their Drill Sergeant to take the picture and send it to all their phones.

Judy was on a small break in her cruiser, enjoying a carrot, raspberry, and kiwi smoothie, while parked under the shade of some trees at a small park in Savanna Central. When she had sent Nick a photo of the brand new cruiser some time ago, he wanted to christen it ‘the Hareraiser’ but Judy promptly shut down that horrible name. Her phone buzzed and she saw a text from Nick with an attachment. 

A toothy smile appeared on her face when the photo appeared fullscreen. All fifteen ZPA cadets, a motley crew of mammals huddled around each other, brothers and sisters in arms, in their ZPA trainee outfits posing together. Her violet eyes immediately fell to the red fox in the middle who sported the snarkiest smirk she had seen yet with a wink to the camera. He had a timber wolf’s arm draped around his shoulders and a fellow tiger’s paw ruffling his ears.

The bunny still had some time left for her break and decided to dial Nick and see if he could chat.

“Officer Fluff,” came the greeting through the earpiece. She could feel the smile on the other end.

“Well, look at you mister graduate. Oh, Nick, I am so proud of you!” Judy had to pause for a moment because she felt a bit of dampness rising in the corner of her eyes.

“Oh, you bunnies. Always so emotional.”

“Oh, you foxes. Always so irritating.”

Nick chuckled, “They’re letting us rest for a few days before the ceremony. I don’t suppose my super rabbit officer knows who the secret speaker will be, does she?”

Judy knew. But Judy had to lie. 

“Nick, if I told you it wouldn’t be a secret now would it. And I am not going to partake in you hustling your fellow cadets out of food and bunnies knows what else,” she replied with a smile.

She could feel the mock drama seeping through, “You wound me, officer, I would never do such a thing. On my new badge’s honor.”

Judy heartily laughed, “Coming from the fox who I found out NEVER shared his blueberries with his fellow classmates and ate all their food.”

“Hah! I gave them every opportunity to win some fair and square. Not my fault they couldn’t pull it off. So, will I be seeing you at the graduation?”

“Wouldn’t miss it Slick. They gave me the day off and a front row seat too.”

“That’s great. Oh… I wanted to tell you something actually,” Nick’s voice got a little quieter.

Judy picked up on the faint drop in tone, “Nick is something wrong?”

“No. No. It’s just that… well, I invited my Mom to the graduation. I don’t know 100% yet if she will show up. I’m hoping she does. I, um… haven’t seen her in fourteen years.”

She bit her tongue from almost blurting out ‘fourteen years’! Now wasn’t the time for that. Her ears drooped but a faint smile still clung to her muzzle, “Nick, I’m sure she’ll come. She will be so proud of you. And if she doesn’t, I will be there.”

There was a few moments of silence. She almost spoke up again when he replied, “Thanks Carrots. I’ll see you in a few days.”

“Okay Nick. I’ll see you there.”

* * *

The sun was shining brightly in the morning blue sky. It was a picture perfect day for a graduation. Nick stood in the center of the front row, dressed in his formal navy dress blues with a gold aiguillette adorning his left shoulder. His classic aviators sat on his snout while he cupped a Snarlbucks coffee in his right paw and kept his left paw behind his back, standing at attention. Surrounded by his fellow classmates, a mix of tigers, elephants, a brown bear, some hippos and wolves. Brian was off to his far right at the end of the row.

He had hoped to bump into Judy before the ceremony began but no such luck. He occasionally scanned the front areas but there was no sign of the bunny. A part of him felt hurt that she may not be here. Perhaps something important had come up at the station? His mood felt slightly soured and he lowered his head to ground, his ears slightly tucked down.

Soon it was time. The new Mayor had come up to begin the ceremony. His speech was brief, nothing special, some honeyed words about thanking this new wave of Officers for their dedication, hard work, and something about the Mammal Inclusion Initiative. Perhaps that was meant towards him? Soon he was finished and was ready to announce the special speaker who was also going to present the badges to the new Officers.

“Please join me in giving a warm welcome to last year’s Valedictorian and the Officer who solved one of the largest cases in recent Zootopia history, Officer Judy Hopps!”

Nick immediately snapped his head back up. There she was, climbing up on something to be able to see over the podium. First he saw those black tipped ears and then Judy’s face. He hadn’t seen that smile in almost nine months. She too had donned her dress blues for the ceremony. 

Judy scanned the crowd and her eyes finally found his. She couldn’t contain her smile and neither could he. Her violet eyes flashed him a ‘this is what you get for not telling me you went to the academy.’

He lowered his head so his aviators could drop a bit and reveal his bright green eyes. _I deserved that._

Officer Hopps took a small breath and began, “When I was a kid, I thought Zootopia was this perfect place where everyone got along and anyone could be anything. Turns out, real life is a bit more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker. Real life is messy. We all have limitations, we all make mistakes, which means, hey, glass half full, we all have a lot in common. And the more we try to understand one another, the more exceptional each of us will be.”

She continued her speech while gazing upon the crowd.

“But we have to try. So no matter what type of animal you are, from the biggest elephant,” she gestured up high to the two new elephant officers. “To our first fox.” She lowered her paw to Nick, as their classmates peered down and smiled to their fellow fox officer. Nick lifted his aviators up and winked. A rare heartfelt smile appearing on his muzzle.

Judy concluded, “I implore you. Try. Try to make the world a better place. Look inside yourself and recognize that change starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with all of us.”

A round of applause thundered through the crowd. They began to call the cadets up alphabetically. Judy happily pinned each officer’s badge one by one.

Nick’s grin grew when he saw Brian get his badge and the two shared a glance and a thumbs up. He kept his eyes locked on Judy not realizing he momentarily zoned out. He hadn’t heard who got Valedictorian yet.

The rabbit officer was handed a wooden box that contained the last badge. She turned back to the crowd. “It is with great honor and happiness, that I present this final badge, to this year’s Valedictorian and my best friend, Nicholas P. Wilde.”

The fox took his glasses off and set his coffee down and approached the stage till he was standing right in front of Judy. She had taken the badge out and held it reverently in her two paws as she stepped in front of Nick. Her look of admiration and that beaming smile melted right through him. He watched her paws as she reached out and slowly hooked his badge onto his uniform.

Judy looked back up at Nick, he matched her gaze as she stepped back. She hadn’t seen a smile like that on Nick since the day she had asked him to join her at the ZPD one year ago. 

She saluted her friend and he gave a crisp salute back. The newly badged officers roared and cheered as they threw their hats up into the air in celebration.

* * *

As the ceremony wound down, Judy ran to Nick and gave him the biggest hug, which he gladly returned. They lingered that way for a several moments, before she pulled away.

“Nick, I already found out you will be assigned to Precinct One! I am totally going to harass Bogo so that he has no choice but for us to be partners,” she declared, her petite form shaking with excitement.

“Better be careful what you wish for Officer Hopps, I might be too much fox to handle.” Nick replied with another wink. 

“I think I can handle one sly fox.” Judy smirked back. Unable to stop hopping on her toes, she leaned over and whispered, “Hey, they need me to talk to a few more officials and then I will be right back, okay?”

Nick nodded, “Take your time Carrots. I’m not going anywhere.”

Judy lightly touched his shoulder and hopped back to the stage where she exchanged some words with the Mayor and a few other important looking mammals.

Officer Wilde was exchanging nods, pawshakes, and smiles with his fellow officers who were all being flanked and congratulated by their families and friends.

He stepped away for a brief few moments, waiting for Judy to get back. As he gazed around the thinning crowd, his attention suddenly stopped on another fox. His eyes grew wide as an older vixen slowly paced towards him, dressed in a lovely purple blouse and maroon dress. Almost forgetting to breath, he could barely mouth the words, “Mom!?”

The now teary eyed vixen stood in front of her son, equally at a loss of words herself, before her purse dropped to the ground and she opened her inviting arms wide, “Oh, Nicholas!”

She quickly embraced him and squeezed him so hard. Nick honestly didn’t know who could crush his ribs more, Judy or his Mom. He quietly listened to her sobs of joy as she sniffled under his chin. 

“I never thought I would see you again,” Mrs. Wilde said as she pulled away briefly so she could look into his eyes. “But this… this is so wonderful. Words can’t express how I feel right now. If your Dad was still around, he would be so proud of you too.”

“Mom, I can’t even begin to apologize for what a dumb fox I’ve been…”

“Shh. It’s okay, sweetheart. Let’s just enjoy this moment. This is your day.” Mrs. Wilde had brought up a paw to silence Nick. “Though, I have to ask one thing.”

Nick barely raised an eyebrow to wonder what the first thing his Mom might inquire about.

“So who did you hustle to get Valedictorian?” she asked with a wide smile.

The officer blinked and looked dumbfounded for a moment, before letting out a great big laugh and hugging her again.

Judy finally finished her power socializing and looked around for her best friend. Her large violet eyes caught sight of two foxes. Mrs. Wilde had come after all. She took a few steps closer but didn’t want to disturb them. Then she gasped. For the first time since she had known Nick, she noticed a single tear rolling down his cheek as he hugged his mother. Her own eyes began to water as she brought both of her paws to her heart and held her breath.

She decided to let Nick spend as much time as he wanted with his Mom. She would text him later to see if he wanted to get together before his first day at work. With a beaming smile, Judy turned back to the crowd and went to congratulate the other remaining graduates.


	2. Keepsakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An expansion on the rabbit and fox duo's first day on the beat, the Gazelle Unity concert, and another peek into Nick's past.

This was it! Their first day of work together. Judy felt as excited today as her first day on the force. She entered the ZPD lobby and saw that her fox friend had already arrived and was engaged in a very animated debate with Clawhauser at his desk while sipping some coffee.

"C'mon Claws, that's overrated."

"It is not, Nick!"

"Okay, look, I will bet you that blueberry glazed donut that…" Nick stopped mid sentence, when his ears shot up and heard the light scampering of feet rushing towards them. "Oh no."

He barely had enough time to brace himself from spilling his coffee when a small body of gray fur collided with him. "And there she is. Hello Officer Sunshine," he muttered with a sigh.

"Morning!" Judy exclaimed towards both fox and cheetah. "What were you two talking about?"

"Hey Judy!" Clawhauser had leaned over on his elbows towards the petite rabbit officer. "Officer Wilde was about to bet me that…"

"Hey! Look at the time! I think we're gonna be late, better get down to the bullpen, got to make that first impression, am I right? See you later, Claws!" Nick placed his free paw behind Judy's back and quickly escorted her away.

Clawhauser looked surprised but then leaned his cheeks onto his open paws as he watched the two smallest officers of Precinct One walk away. He thought they looked adorable together.

"Nick!" Judy said as she placed her paw on his arm to stop him and shot him a glare. "Are you seriously hustling your fellow co-workers on the first day on the job?"

Nick put his paw over his heart and pretended to look taken aback, "Madam, this time I have a real badge, I would do no such thing." He finished his dramatic pose by gesturing to his shiny new badge while smirking.

Judy rolled her eyes and pointed at it, "Yes, your 'crooked' badge."

"What?" he replied and looked down to double check that it was pinned correctly. He looked back at her with a frown as she smirked back.

"Made you look," she whispered and turned towards the door. She didn't want to feed his ego that his immaculately pressed field dress and rolled up sleeves made him look good. "C'mon, let's get inside."

The fox followed her in, making a barely audible growl about 'sly, hustling, carrot farming bunnies from the burrows' under his breath.

"I heard that."

"Of course you did."

Judy walked down the bullpen aisle and hopped up to her seat. Nick walked up and looked around. He hadn't had the chance to ask his former classmates to see if anyone else made it to Precinct One. He discovered two of his academy classmates in the back row, an elephant and lion, who were right behind him in standing. The three of them shared a nod. It seemed there were no other seats left in the front row. A light tapping sound caught his attention and he turned to see Judy gesturing with her paw to join her in the large seat.

The fox smiled and climbed up. He was tall enough to sit and lean forward, while Judy had to stand. She put her paws together and leaned forward as well. The bullpen began to get rowdier as Chief Bogo finally entered.

"Alright. Alright. Shut it!" The cape buffalo roared as he stepped behind his podium. "We have some new recruits with us this morning, including our first fox." He gestured to Nick while Judy stole a quick side glance at him.

"Who cares," Bogo deadpanned while picking up his clipboard.

Nick, naturally would not let this golden opportunity pass and could not keep his trap shut, "Hah. You should have your own line of inspirational greeting cards, Sir."

"Shut your mouth, Wilde!"

The room of officers briefly snickered. Judy had a goofy look on her face trying to fight back a laugh. Bogo began to hand out the day's assignments. Judy still didn't know if he was going to pair her and Nick together. She turned and watched as her fellow officers left with their tasks, then her name was called.

"Hopps. Wilde."

She perked up in excitement while her partner kept a cool smile.

"Parking duty. Dismissed."

Judy gestured with open paws on the countertop as both their mouths dropped in shock.

Bogo eyed them for a moment and replied with the goofiest high pitched voice he could muster, "Just kidding!" He went back to his usual gruff self and announced their real assignment. "We have reports of a street racer tearing up Savanna Central. Find him. Shut him down."

After grabbing the case file, both fox and rabbit officers exited the bullpen. With keys in paw, Judy lead Nick to the cruiser parking lot. He spotted their smaller cruiser in the far corner.

"Here it is!" Judy announced waving her paws to her vehicle and unlocking it with her key fob. The designation on the side read 'Z-240'.

"Ah, I finally get to see the infamous 'Hareraiser'."

"Don't call it that!" Judy glared at her partner and pointed the ignition key at him. "And I'm driving."

"You're the boss," he replied as he took another sip of coffee and opened the passenger side door.

Nick plopped onto his seat and fastened the seatbelt. He looked around the interior of the cruiser. It was quite spacious and not as small as he had expected it to be. It was actually built for medium-sized mammals but the front seats, dash, pedals, and steering were retrofitted and raised to accommodate Judy's size. Glancing towards the rear, they definitely could put larger mammals than themselves in the back with the exception of the tallest ones such as elephants, rhinos, and giraffes. He set his coffee and aviators down by the middle compartment. Judy did the same with her notepad and carrot recording pen.

She looked over to Nick. "All set?"

He nodded affirmative and Judy turned the ignition. Z-240 roared to life. She merged into traffic and headed south towards Savanna Central.

On the way down, they discussed and formulated a plan to patrol along the longest avenues and streets incase their racer was a fan of drag racing along straightaways. The morning passed pretty quickly and there were no signs of the elusive street racer. The duo had stopped at some small food carts on Acacia St. Nick ordered himself a spicy cricket burrito while Judy bought some leafy veggie wraps. They found a local park and ate their lunch at a wooden bench.

"You know, I could get used to this." Nick began with a mouthful of food. "Being chauffeured around, mammal watching, napping in the park, and getting paid to do it! This is the life after all."

His partner glanced at him with a cocked eyebrow and teased, "Don't get used to it, Slick or I'll make you drive the rest of the shift and file all the reports later."

"Now that is one thing I am not looking forward to," he replied while pulling out his phone when he felt it vibrate in his pocket. He eyed it with a rather serious stare and then began to peck away at something with his thumb.

"Whatcha doing?" Judy asked before taking another bite of her lunch.

"Playing Words with Mammals. It's my turn. I have a nice lead on this poor mammal and I am about to crush them in this round."

Judy snorted. "Nick, I swear you are just a big kit in fox's clothing."

"I'll have you know this is a great way to test one's vocabulary and inflate my ego," Nick replied as he tapped in his word.

"Because it isn't big enough already?" she smiled his way.

"Nope. And I win!" he declared when his word play netted him an additional 300 points by hitting a double and two triples and the random player he was matched against quit the game. "Hah, it's always satisfying when they rage quit."

Scooting over, Judy stood up and arched her neck and placed her chin on his shoulder to get a better view of the phone screen, staring at the word board. Nick pretended to not be fazed by the sudden physical contact. She didn't recognize the word he played. "What's 'QUIXOTRY'?

"Really? My partner has never read 'Don Coyote'?" He smirked in her direction. "It means a romantic idea or action."

His tease earned him a prompt elbow to the gut. Judy stuck her small tongue out at him, "What do you know about romantic actions? And I read plenty, hot shot. How do I play you?"

"Ow." He rubbed his side and then a devilish grin formed on his muzzle. "And I know plenty romantic actions, Fluff. Give me your phone."

She handed it over and Nick downloaded the app and opened it. He gave the phone back to her. "Okay, make a username and I will challenge you."

Judy tried her name and found it already taken. She tried another variation. Taken. She sighed and tapped furiously for a solid minute with no luck. Nick sat amused, eating his lunch, watching her irritation and impatience grow until finally she found a name that wasn't used. "Okay, now what?"

"What name did you pick?"

"Laverne."

"What?"

"L-A-V-E-R-N-E."

Punching in the letters and sending the game invite, Nick shifted so he could look at Judy, "What is that from?"

"It's my middle name," she smiled.

Nick had to put a paw over his snout to contain his snickering. "Judith Laverne Hopps, huh?"

The rabbit glared daggers at him, "And why is that so funny, Nicholas P. Wilde? What's your middle name?"

"Not telling."

"That's not fair you jerk!" as she waved her veggie wrap directly at him.

"Life's not fair sweetheart. Besides I kind of like it. Laverne makes me think of lavender, just like your eyes," he smiled while putting his elbow up on the bench and made direct eye contact.

Judy was about to argue some more but somewhat deflated at his last comment. She was still glaring at Nick but felt a small blush in her cheeks and her ears reddened.

Waving his fingers to mock her, he teased, "Quixotry. Check your phone and see if you got my invite."

She was about to comment on that word play but looked down at the app first and saw a challenge from a 'FoxyWithTheMoxy'. The bunny doubled over in laughter.

"Nick, are you serious!? FoxyWithTheMoxy?" Judy said wiping some wetness from her eyes.

"You'd be surprised how many mammals underestimate that name, Carrots," he pointed out unfazed by her commentary.

After collecting herself, Judy noticed the time. "Oh shiitake mushrooms! We don't have much time left to eat. Let's finish up and get back to the car. Since it looks like it's my turn to go first, I will play a word later tonight."

He nodded and they both wolfed down their meals and jumped back into the cruiser.

Several hours passed as the cruiser continued to patrol down the street, passing a street clock that indicated it was a few minutes after 5PM. No racer. They had begun to wonder if he or she was even out driving today. Nick made a routine check-in with Clawhauser. The dispatcher had no new information to report either.

Leaning on his paw on the window, Nick was lazily scanning all the passing streets when something caught his attention. "Oh. Oh. Carrots! Stop. Stop the car. Pull over!"

The cruiser came to a screeching halt next to the curb. "What? What is it? Do you see the street racer?"

Her fox partner was already out of the door before she got an answer from him. Violet eyes went wide and locked onto the red fox who then stopped in front of…

"Oh my god, Nick." Judy fumed.

"Pawpsicles! Get over here and get your friggin pawpsicles," came the loud gravelly proclamation from a tiny fennec fox while waving a sample. Finnick stopped when he caught sight of another fox approaching dressed in all blue.

"Well, look who it is! My little boy is all grown up and taking over the family business," Nick said with paws clasped by his chin in mock reverence. "I'm so proud!"

Finnick furled his brow and growled. "Shut it, Wilde. Why don't you come a little closer so I can bite your face off."

"Wouldn't that be assaulting a police officer?"

"I wouldn't be assaulting a cop. I'd be assaulting a chump."

The two eyed one another before bursting into chuckles.

"How's business, Finn?" Nick asked as he hunched over a bit with his knees to be more eye level with Finnick.

"Usual. Not the same without you. Feels twice as hard and three times as annoying. Least I don't have to wear that elephant suit anymore and I get to keep all the profit," he smirked.

"Then I shall take two pawpsicles, my good sir," Nick said reaching for his wallet.

"Here. I don't want your dirty cop money."

"C'mon Finn, don't be like that," the officer smiled. "Okay, how about this? Here is a tip for the most excellent of customer service. I'll even give you a five paw review on Yip."

Officer Wilde peeled out a twenty dollar bill and placed it on the cart and grabbed two pawpsicles.

"Whatever. Say hi to the bunny cop for me," Finnick crossed his arms avoiding eye contact but unable to hide a small smile.

"Will do. See you around, Finn!" Nick saluted as he skulked off with his prized sweets.

"Ciao."

Coming back to the cruiser, there awaited a very annoyed bunny whose right foot paw was thumping at mach one speeds.

"Nick, I can't believe you did that," she huffed with her arms crossed. "I thought something important or dangerous happened. On top of that we can't just break patrol any time you feel like grabbing a treat. That racer could've driven by for all we know!"

His ears flattened at his partner's genuine ire. "Sorry, Carrots. I was just so excited to see Finn after all this time. I should've asked you first." He extended his paw to give her one of the pawpsicles.

Judy's eyes bounced from Nick's apologetic face to the pawpsicle and back. She sighed, uncrossed her arms, and her ears drooped down as well. Her foot stopped thumping.

"I'm sorry I got so angry, Nick. I know how much he means to you. I'll have to pass on that pawpsicle though. Thank you for the gesture," she smiled.

He smiled back, "Finn says hi by the way." Looking around he spotted a nearby recycle bin. Nick gestured one moment, walked over, quickly chomped the second treat, and threw the stick into the bin. Quickly returning, he signaled that he was ready to go and headed towards his side of the cruiser.

Both mammals jumped in and continued the hunt for their suspect. They continued circling through Gnu York before heading over to Acorn Heights. Nick provided a few short cuts through the city streets to help avoid traffic as they continued to scan the major roads.

It was nearing the end of their shift and still nothing. They covered several more streets and were slowly approaching another intersection. Neither had spoken for awhile. Nick was reclined on his seat, elbow up, pawpsicle in left paw looking out his rolled down window. He decided to brighten the mood. The only way Nick Wilde could do.

"So, are all rabbits bad drivers or is it just you?" Turning to glance at Judy as he gestured with his pawpsicle and went to take a lick.

A look of irritation grew on Judy's face and she decided to get him back. She waited till the last possible second and slammed the brakes at the red light. Nick crashed forward to the bottom of the passenger dash as the cruiser jolted to a sudden stop.

Judy with half-lidded eyes looked his way and mocked him. "Oops. Sorry!"

Her partner got back up. His pawpsicle was stuck to his fur over his left eye. Nick grunted as it took some force to remove it from his face. He chuckled as he turned back towards Judy, waving the pawpsicle at her. "Sly bunny."

The bunny had turned to face the road again with a satisfied smile and quipped, "Dumb fox."

Nick leaned towards her and proclaimed, "You know you love me."

Judy peered at the roof of the cruiser pondering the statement. "Do I know that?" She turned her head and leaned to Nick with a smile and answered her own question. "Yes. Yes I do."

The fox smiled back. They held eye contact for a moment.

Their light turned green and Judy began to enter the intersection when a speeding blur of red and white roared right through the red light from the left, causing her to slam the brakes to avoid the collision.

The two sat wide eyed for a brief moment in disbelief. It was the street racer! They quickly exchanged a glance while Nick flicked open his aviators and Judy prepared to gun it. He reached down to activate the lights and siren.

She slammed the pedal to the metal and peeled out in pursuit of the speeding muscle car. The chase didn't last long and the car quickly pulled over to the curb. Both partners exited the cruiser with Judy in the lead taking out her pad and pen, while Nick followed her with his paws behind his back walking towards the driver side window. He noticed the car had a custom plate: FST NML.

"Sir, you were going 115 miles per hour. I hope you have a good explanation," Judy said as she stopped next to the window with both paws on her hips.

The window rolled down to reveal a terrified sloth wearing a collared shirt.

Nick walked up, ears perked, amazed to see that the street racer was none other than his DMV buddy. He removed his aviators with an amused grin. "Flash, Flash, hundred yard dash!?"

Judy blinked in silence with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

The sloth's fearful expression quickly melted into a huge sleepy smile when he also recognized his friend and replied in his slow speech pattern, "Nick!"

"Flash, old buddy, could you wait right here?" Nick ordered and looked to Judy. "Officer Hopps, may I speak to you a moment?" He motioned with his snout to move back towards their cruiser.

His partner obliged and they stepped away, "What it is Nick?"

"Carrots, I know you may not agree with this, but I was thinking we could let Flash off with a warning?" the fox asked as he kneeled down to be more eye level with the bunny.

"Nick! You can't just let friends off the hook if they are caught breaking the law! He was going 70 miles per hour over the speed limit! That's…

"Reckless driving defined by driving over the speed limit by 20 miles per hour or more, punishable by 30 days jail time, up to $2500 in fines and possible license suspension," he finished for her. "And he ran a red."

His partner raised her eyebrows, ears up, and kept her paws on her hips waiting for him to continue. Nick held a paw up.

"Hear me out. He was a big help to us in finding Otterton and those missing mammals. How about you let me talk to him? I will give him a one time warning, take his information, and give him a small fine to drive the point home. If we hear about him racing again, we will bring him in, no objections from me, and I'll do all the paperwork for the report. I promise I won't make a habit of this. How's that sound to you?"

"Fine. I trust you on this, Nick." Judy's expression softened and she handed him the citation booklet and her carrot pen.

"Thank you, Judy. I owe you one."

Judy's black tipped ears shot back up and she blinked at Nick in awe while he walked back to have his conversation with Flash. For the one year she knew this irritating fox, not once had he spoken her name directly to her.

Fox and sloth engaged in a very lengthy conversation. Walking back to the cruiser, she decided to hop up and sit on the hood, legs crossed and paws on her lap, watching Nick exert great patience conversing with his friend. Whenever he spoke it was brief and animated. When Flash was talking, Nick stood at full attention with paws behind his back. At one particular point, Nick seemed to be excited and looking agreeable about something. She saw him finish by handing Flash a ticket and waving goodbye. The cherry red muscle car started back up and drove away obeying the speed limit.

Sliding back down, she waited for Nick's approach. He returned and handed her items back, "Got his plate, license, registration, address, and a small recording on that pen of yours. Our street racer is shut down." He looked at her with a satisfied smile on his face.

That smile was contagious and she grinned back lightly punching his arm. "Not a bad first day on the beat, Slick. Now it's time to head back so you can fill out your first official case report."

"Oh goodie," he drawled.

"How long have you known, Flash? You two seem like you go way back."

"Since High School. We were on the track team together."

"Are you hustling me, Nick?" the bunny giggled.

"100% the truth. Ranger scouts honor," he replied with a two fingered paw.

They both turned to get into their cruiser.

"Can I drive on the way back to the station?" Nick asked.

"No."

They hopped back into Z-240 and triumphantly drove back to Precinct One. After arriving, Nick had to make due on his promise and proceeded to do all the paperwork. Judy left him to grab some snacks from the vending machines in the break room. She came back munching on some type of fruity granola bar.

"Still working on that report?"

A low growl was her only reply.

"Don't be such a kit," she chuckled giving him a small flick on his shoulder. "You made a deal after all."

Judy's small corner cubicle desk was given a small extension from the ZPD maintenance crew and now she shared the desk with her partner. Nick was pecking away at her computer to finish their case report, since his was still being prepared by the IT department, and they would be done for the day.

"You don't have to wait around for me, Carrots."

"I don't mind," she said after finishing the last bite. Judy was still hungry. "We can grab a bite to eat after?"

Nick swiveled around in his chair. "Oh, so you aren't tired of this handsome fox yet? Well, I can't blame you."

Of course he got another punch to the arm. Judy picked up her phone. She was thinking about playing a word on that game they started during lunch when she heard her name suddenly.

"Hopps!"

It was Chief Bogo yelling from the fourth floor and pointing back to his office.

The two officers exchanged questioning looks and the bunny's nose twitched. "I'll be right back."

"Does he ever go home?" Nick asked aloud to no one in particular.

Standing in front of the office door, she was about to knock when Bogo spoke first, "Come in Hopps."

Entering the office, she scampered up to the large seat. "Yes, Chief?"

Bogo had his arms folded on his desk. He looked at Judy for a few moments before speaking, "I heard you and Wilde have already put a stop to the street racer case. Good work, Officer."

"Thank you, Sir."

"The reason I called you up is because I have something for you."

Judy's ears flipped up and a look of curiosity covered her face. "Sir?"

"Earlier this afternoon, we received a letter and special donation from the Mayor and Gazelle. This Friday, they will be converting the main town square and fountain outside our building to host a special Unity concert. We will be assisting and working security details but they personally asked that these special tickets be given to the officers who helped solve the Nighthowler case."

Chief Bogo opened a drawer and placed four tickets in front of Judy. "These are for you, Wilde, and two guests. VIP front stage access."

Willpower failed and Judy unprofessionally squeaked in disbelief. "Oh my god, sir, this is incredible! Two extra tickets… I should give one to Clawhauser! Would you like to go with us too, Sir?"

Even Bogo couldn't hide a small smile from his tiny officer's enthusiasm and kindness. "That won't be necessary, Hopps. I made sure Clawhauser got a ticket. Bring some family or friends and enjoy yourself. You can have the weekend off as well but be on standby. Dismissed."

"Thank you, Sir!" Judy reached out to grab the tickets, flashed the chief a sweet smile, hopped down, and raced back down the stairs to tell Nick.

* * *

With the two extra tickets, Judy and Nick decided to invite her parents. Bonnie and Stu Hopps seemed very excited to spend a night in the city and visit their daughter. She was very eager to introduce Nick. She had talked about him quite frequently. At first, her parents showed a small sign of caution in regards to her partner being a fox, but after hearing about him defending her job and helping solve her first major case, they had softened up significantly towards this fox friend they hadn't met yet. Bonnie happily supplied extra blueberries for her daughter's monthly care package when Judy shared how much Nick loved them.

The rest of the week passed by pretty uneventfully. The most excitement consisted of pulling over a few speeders, breaking up a small fight amongst some drunks, and catching some graffiti artists who were tagging historical buildings.

Once Friday arrived and their shift ended, they had planned to shower and change in the ZPD locker rooms. Nick was back in his usual awful green shirt and striped tie and Judy put on a nice blue and teal short sleeved shirt, tight black leggings, and her FitBite sports bracelet.

Outside the entrance, they stood on the large steps, viewing the nearly finished construction. Nick looked around indifferently while Judy was wide eyed checking out the set design. It was nearly complete and they could hear the sound engineers performing their final audio tests.

"Nick, look at those screens! They're movie theatre size. I can't wait to see the show!"

Her friend simply stood there with paws in pockets and changed the subject. "You haven't played a word yet, Carrots. Getting cold feet?"

Judy had forgotten about the app game since the concert news. She shot him a nonplussed stare, "Fine, I'll do it now. I will make you eat those WORDS."

Eyeing her available letters, she didn't have much to work with yet. The bunny punched in a four letter word vertically.

Nick's phone buzzed and he took a peek. A wide smile grew on his muzzle and he taunted. "SHIP, huh? And I had the impression I'd be playing a cunning linguist."

"You think you're so clever, Slick. Play a word then."

"Nope. It's more fun to leave you wanting more."

"Or maybe you're just stalling because you won't be able to keep up."

"I can do this all day," he winked putting his phone away.

They both laughed. Judy really enjoyed her friend's easy going company. "Shall we head over to Savanna Central Station? My parents will be arriving soon."

She noticed Nick turned a little nervous. He had looked away and then back while rubbing the back of his neck, "Do you think it will bother them that your partner is a fox?"

Judy inched closer and squeezed his paw and quietly reassured him, "Nick, don't worry. They know all about you. We actually have a close business partnership with a fox named Gideon Grey. He makes some of the best pies in the Tri-Burrows. We used to be classmates when we were younger."

Naturally, Judy left out the part about being bullied by Gideon and getting her left cheek raked. Those three scars lines still remained beneath her fur. She could still feel them whenever her paw brushed the area.

"Okay, Carrots. Let's go pick up Mom and Pop," his trademark smirk returned.

The pair walked towards the nearest subway entrance. After a short trip, they arrived at the station. The Zootopia Express pulled into the station as the loudspeaker announced its arrival.

Bonnie and Stu Hopps stepped out of the opening train doors and into the station alongside several larger mammals. The grand central train station was still a sight to behold for the country bunnies. They searched the crowd till they spotted Judy who was looking in the opposite direction while engaged in conversation with a taller fox in a green shirt and tie leaning up against a column. The fox noticed the Bunnyburrow arrivals and tapped her shoulder, gesturing for Judy to turn around.

"Mom! Dad!" Judy ran in and pulled both her parents into a big hug and gave each of them a quick kiss.

"Hey there, Jude the Dude! Hi sweetheart!" they both returned with a warm embrace.

Nick caught up, casually strolling up to the trio of bunnies with his paws behind his back.

Judy turned to put a paw on his arm and gestured towards him with a beaming smile, "Mom. Dad. This is Nicholas P. Wilde, my friend and partner at the ZPD."

Her partner cleared his throat, smiled, and stuck his paw out towards Bonnie first, "Mr. and Mrs. Hopps. Pleasure to meet you."

"Nicholas, so nice to meet you too! Judy has told us so much about you," replied Bonnie, keeping his name proper.

Stu politely shook his paw next. "Mr. Wilde. Thanks for coming to meet us. Bonnie and I haven't had a chance to see the big city yet. We're exciting about this concert Jude told us about, right Bon?"

"Oh, yes, we can't wait to see it!"

Turning back to Bonnie, Nick decided to break the ice some more with a genuine smile and playful tone. "Mrs. Hopps, please call me Nick, and I'm sure whatever Ca—Judy has said about me is not true."

This of course earned him a smack on the arm.

"Ow. See what I have to put up with?" he rubbed his shoulder and smirked at Judy who was returning his expression.

Bonnie and Stu shared a glance when Nick spoke up once more. "Please, let me help you with your bags." He reached to pick up both small suitcases.

"Dear, you don't have to carry those," Bonnie said.

"It's no problem, Ma'am."

"Thank you, Nicholas. But before you do, I brought some snacks." Bonnie opened her suitcase and pulled out a small clear plastic box filled with blueberries. "These are for you."

Nick's eyes went wide and graciously accepted his gift. "Oh, these are so delicious! Thank you." He already began to pop several into his mouth, practically forgetting to chew.

"Nick! I swear I sometimes think you're a pig, not a fox," Judy rolled her eyes while giggling.

"Mmm. Don't care. Have blueberries. And that's mean to pigs," came the muffled reply.

Judy looked at all three of them and waved her paw towards the station exit, "Come on, let's get you guys to your hotel and then we can head over to the concert."

"Lead the way, hun," Stu replied holding his wife's paw and following his daughter.

The three bunnies lead the way while Nick tailed them with luggage in tow. Judy had glanced back to look at Nick and mouthed, "See! Told you so."

Nick silently mouthed back with a wink. "You sure did, Jude the Dude."

Her ears fell instantly and she glared, pointing a finger at him, "Don't call me that!"

The four mammals exited the train station and headed over to the nearby, City Lights Downtown Hotel, where Bonnie and Stu would be staying the night. After checking in and dropping off their luggage, they all shared a nice meal before it was time to walk over to enjoy the concert.

* * *

"Good evening, Zootopia!" Gazelle began to a cheering crowd, "C'mon everybody, put your paws up!"

The pop star and her tiger dancers were on top of a gorgeous lighted platform converted over the main town square fountain. Colorful dazzling lights strobed around the large screen panels surrounded the circular setup that displayed mammal themed patterns, while matching water bursts shot towards the sky. It was a packed show filled with celebrating mammals of all shapes, sizes, and species.

Her opening song was 'Try Everything', one of Judy's favorites. The small rabbit could not help herself from bouncing and shaking with excitement as she turned towards Nick with the biggest grin.

The fox was calmly watching the opening display with a paw in his pocket, he noticed how bouncy Judy became, looking her way with a real smile of his own. He thought her fangirling elation was adorable.

As the song progressed, Judy began to vigorously hop up and down with arms swinging to the beat of the song while Nick was still playing it cool, simply looking ahead and just barely moving his head and shoulders to the rhythm.

She had looked over at him and hopped closer, goofy grin on her face, winding up her hips and slammed them into Nick's side. He almost doubled over and pulled his paws out of his pockets and decided to humor Judy with his terrible dancing skills, bobbing his body up and down while moving his arms in circular motions.

Judy glanced back over laughing, happy to see Nick getting down, and was really moving with the beat now. Looking across the way, she saw her parents dancing together arm in arm, twirling one another, and clapping in an old fashioned Bunnyburrow dance.

Glancing further over, she saw Clawhauser, who was even more excited than she was! She waved at him, and he noticed her and Nick, waving both paws in excitement and continued his dancing.

"Oh my god, Nick. Look! Is that… Chief Bogo?" Judy pointed to another section of the crowd.

Sure enough, there was large cape buffalo cutting loose on the dance floor with extreme energy and a rare look of happiness on his face.

"Hah… who would have ever expected to see Chief Buffalo-Butt here? This is pure gold. I should get a picture for blackmail."

She turned to her friend, still bouncing, and reached her paws out to him. "Dance with me, Nick!"

"Carrots, these feet have no rhythm."

Judy wasn't going to take no for answer. She moved closer and grabbed his paws, hopping to and from with the beat. Nick tried to match her pace but was comically failing. He swung her around a few times and they continued to move until the song finished. They joined in the round of applause and she gave him a great big hug as the next song was ready to be performed.

* * *

After a few hours, the concert concluded. Gazelle shared a few parting words, thanked the cheering audience, and the crowds began to disperse. They found Judy’s parents and walked them over to their hotel. After saying their goodbyes to Bonnie and Stu, the two partners were walking together down the street.

"That was so much fun!" Judy said but then got caught in a yawn.

"I see the energizer bunny does eventually run out of steam."

He already knew it was coming, but it didn't make the pain any less. He shot her a glare while rubbing his arm from the punch for the upteenth time tonight and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Walk me home? It's just a few blocks away."

"What kind of gentlemammal would I be if I didn't?" came the snarky reply followed by the usual smirk.

Nick glanced down to his partner and she smiled back.

As they made their way closer to her apartment, Judy's ears tensed. "Nick, do you hear that?"

"Hear what? You gotta be specific, Carrots. I don't have super rabbit ears."

The noise was faint but Judy could hear the sounds of someone struggling. "I think someone is in trouble! Quick this way!" She pointed to a nearby alley and ran towards it.

The fox chased after the bunny and when they rounded the corner, they saw a female antelope struggling against a very large gray wolf in a trenchcoat who was trying to rob her purse.

"Somebody, please help!" screamed the antelope.

"Shut up and give me the purse, lady, if you know what's good for you!"

The assailant's ears perked as he heard another voice directed at him from the street.

"Stop right there! ZPD!"

The wolf turned to see a bunny and a fox running straight towards him. He decided to let go of the purse and shoved the antelope towards the cops while sprinting down the dark alley in the opposite direction.

"Nick, check on her, I got this!" Judy yelled as she leaped over the fallen antelope and continued pursuit.

"Carrots!" But it was too late, the bunny was already making distance. The fox skidded to a stop and helped the victim to her feet, "Ma'am, I'm Officer Wilde, are you alright?"

"Yes, Officer, thank you, I'm just a bit shocked."

Nick pointed to the nearby lit sidewalk, "Ma'am please wait there and we will be right back." He sprinted back down the alley where he last saw Judy disappear while pulling out his phone and dialed the direct number to the ZPD dispatcher.

A different dispatch answered since Clawhauser was off duty, "Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde, we have a two-one-one, suspect is a gray wolf in a black trenchcoat on foot, Officer Hopps is in pursuit, near 6th and Troop St. Victim is a female antelope. She is safe. Requesting backup."

"Roger, Officer Wilde. Officers McHorn and Trunkaby are en route, five minutes. Over."

Gripping his phone tighter, Nick went into a full sprint and slid through the corner into a darker alley where Judy was catching up to the wolf.

There was a single small flickering light before pitch darkness again. With a burst of speed, she overtook the wolf, jumped up and planted both feet into his back, causing the perp to lose his balance and fall forward, tripping over some garbage.

The wolf rolled onto the ground and pushed himself back up, when she tried to get a hold on him. He flailed his arm out, knocking her to the side, where she caught onto the railing of a fire escape and swung herself around to safety avoiding a crash into the wall.

She was about to pursue again when he threw a loose brick at the small light and plummeted the entire alley into darkness. Judy froze for a moment, ears up, nose twitching, and tried to reach for her phone. Hearing the approaching steps, she tried to brace herself for impact when the wolf kicked her to the ground. She landed with a grunt, hearing a loud crack from her pants pocket.

He was about to lunge at her, when Nick came running, unfazed by the lack of light, and slammed shoulder first into the large gray wolf. Both canines fell to the ground into a struggle with growls and fists flying.

Judy recovered and found her phone. It was damaged from the impact and landing on top of it. She quickly tried to activate the camera light function, and shined the light on Nick and the wolf, as they grappled back to their feet. Nick's foot slipped slightly on some greasy trash, giving the wolf a chance to reach into his coat and she saw the flash of a shiny sharp object in his left paw, just as her phone light blinked and died, bringing the darkness back.

"Nick! He has a knife!"

Barely able to respond in time, Nick threw his whole body backwards as the wolf attacked in a backhanded horizontal slash cutting into his shirt and tie. He fell against a bunch of trash cans, instinctively grabbing the nearest lid and bringing it up to his torso, stopping the next attack, metal hitting metal.

He tried to back away against the wall and pushed back with the lid as a shield, desperately trying to activate the flashlight feature on his phone with his other paw while keeping his eyes trained on his attacker. The wolf attacked relentlessly and almost had him pinned, snarling near his face, "Just a dumb little fox."

Finally able to turn on the light, Nick shined it directly at the wolf's eyes to buy him some time and lightly tossed his phone underneath the wolf so that it illuminated his position from the ground. "Only one bunny can call me a dumb fox, and you made the mistake of turning your back on her," Nick growled looking past his attacker's shoulder.

Just as the wolf was about to attack again, a powerful double kick collided directly into the wolf's right temple and sent his head flying against the nearby hanging fire escape ladder and knocked him out cold, flipping him onto his back and the knife dropped to the ground.

Judy quickly restrained the unconscious wolf and could hear the approaching police sirens. The adrenaline was wearing off. Nick, still panting, let himself slide to the ground, dropped the lid, and looked at Judy, "You okay, Carrots?"

"Ugh. I'm okay." She picked up his phone and rushed over to him, shining the light on him and checking this torso. Small paws furiously patted down the slashed shirt. His tie was cut in half. Pulling her paw away revealed small traces of blood.

"Nick, you're hurt!" voice cracking, as she put her paws back to keep some pressure on his wound.

"I'll be alright," he quietly responded, avoiding eye contact. His eyes looked grim and full of sadness as she followed his gaze to his tie. He was holding the remaining half in his paw.

Behind them came the sound of large footsteps and bright lights as McHorn and Trunkaby arrived into the alley.

"Hopps? Wilde? You two back there?" McHorn's voice echoed past the building walls.

"Over here! Nick's been hurt!" Judy frantically yelled to her fellow officers.

Both rhino and elephant officers quickly came to their side.

McHorn shined his light around the alley and spotted the unconscious perp. "I'll take care of this wolf, Francine. Call in the EMTs for Wilde."

With a nod, Officer Trunkaby called a medical bus to come check on Nick, while McHorn threw the muzzled wolf into his squad car to be hauled down to the station. They took a report from the antelope and Judy. She returned to her partner's side, after thanking her fellow officers. The two officers wished them both well and drove away. Once the EMT had cleaned the small slash across Nick's chest and bandaged it up, he was given a shot for tetanus and a small dose of antibiotics.

Judy noticed Nick's silence and how he tightly gripped the severed half of his blue and purple striped tie in his paw.

"You're all clear, Officer Wilde. Go home and get some rest," the EMT said.

The fox slid down from the back of the bus, quietly thanked the EMT, and began to walk away. Judy quickly grabbed his paw and tried to stop him.

"Nick, talk to me." she spoke softly, ears drooping.

"I'm fine," came the tense reply. He stopped suddenly, realizing his reaction and putting his other paw over his face, ears dropping to his head. "I'm sorry, Carrots. I'm glad you're not hurt. I… I'm just mad that… something could have happened to you."

She didn't let go. She saw how his eyes looked at hers and smiled. Judy knew he may have been upset at her for charging in without thinking but he wasn't blaming her. And she also knew he was very upset about his tie. It was the tie she saw him wear almost daily. The bunny didn't want to push the issue any further, so she stayed silent.

"Let me walk you home and then I'll head out," the fox whispered.

Judy was still looking at his bandaged wound. "Nick, where's your apartment?"

"Don't have one anymore. I was going to head back to the warehouses by the Docks."

"Wait! You had an address on your tax forms! I remember it being in Cypress Grove?" she asked.

Nick paused briefly. "It's just a mailing address I use."

"But… the warehouses by the docks… you mean by that bridge where I found you nine months ago? Are you… HOMELESS!?" Judy almost screamed the question. Several pedestrians looked their direction at the outburst.

"It's not a problem."

"Yes. It. Is. You dumb fox!" The rabbit put herself in front of him to block his way. "I am not letting you go all the way across the city just to have you sleep under some damn bridge or in an abandoned building!"

"Swearing isn't becoming of you," he attempted to deflect.

"Don't start with me, Nick. You are coming with me and staying the night. I am not taking no for an answer!" Judy crossed her arms with an intense glare. Her foot began to thump.

Nick stubbornly glared back with paws on hips. Judy held her ground as well. She was not going to give in either.

Finally sighing and giving up, Nick threw his arms up. "Fine Officer Fluff, you win."

"Good," she shot back in triumph and pivoted on her foot to lead the way.

They walked the remaining several blocks in silence and arrived in front of the old rickety complex.

"The Grand Pangolin Arms, huh?" Nick eyed the older building. "Let me guess, the landlord is an armadillo?"

"Let's go inside." Judy tugged, ignoring his question, and opened the building door.

They quietly climbed the stairs and walked down the hallway stopping in front of a door with a carrot themed 'WELCOME' mat.

"Of course, you have a carrot themed welcome mat," he commented looking down at his feet.

Judy simply closed her eyes, exhaled through her nose, and shook her head. She was happy his snarkiness was slowly returning even if it was still a bit irritating. It was a good sign. Unlocking the door, she swung it open and walked inside. Nick followed her in and she flipped on the light.

"Here we are!" she announced waving her paw.

"Wow. This isn't an apartment. This is a shoebox," Nick said wide eyed, glancing around the tiny living space.

"I didn't have much time to find a place when I first moved to the city, It's close to work, and I can afford it on my salary," she declared.

Stepping further inside, Nick approached the desk. He saw a few Hopps family photos, a small reading lamp, tiny alarm radio, and a folded piece of paper. The square paper looked familiar to him. Picking it up, he unfolded it, and a small crumpled sticker fell onto the desk. It was his original completed ZPD application and the small Junior ZPD Officer badge that Finnick had slapped onto his shirt after being hustled by Judy over a year ago.

"Carrots, you held onto these?" he quietly asked.

She rubbed her shoulder in slight embarrassment looking down to the floor. "Guess, I just always hoped I could give the application back to you someday. Then you went and applied all on your own. And… I just couldn't make myself throw the sticker away when I picked it up after you left." Nick heard a small sniffle during the pause. "I decided to keep them as keepsakes. Bit cheesy, huh?"

Nick gently smiled to his friend, putting the badge back with the form, folded the application, and returned it to its spot. He loosened his ruined tie and placed both halves on the desk next to the piece of paper.

Judy checked her phone. The screen was cracked and it didn't want to turn on. Closing her eyes, she let out a big sigh, and placed it on her desk. She was going to need to fix or replace it.

Looking at the bed he asked, "So, how do we want to do this? I can take the floor."

"You are not sleeping on the floor, Nick."

"Well, I don't want you sleeping on the floor either," he put his paws on his hips in protest.

"If you sleep on the floor, I sleep on the floor. We will share the bed," she said nonchalantly.

"Uh…" his eyes went wide. He didn't know what to think.

Judy had to laugh. "Are you afraid of sharing a bed with a small bunny, Nick? Come on, I'm not going to bite. I'm used to sharing a space, especially when you have to deal with two hundred and seventy-five siblings."

The fox snorted trying to hide his rising heat. "I figured you wouldn't think it's proper."

"Look, I will take the inside half next to the wall, and you can have the rest of the space. It'll be fine, okay?"

"If you say so."

"Let me just change." She moved to her tiny clothes cabinet.

She opened it and pulled out some pajamas off the rack. When she glanced back at Nick, he had already turned around facing the rear wall and had a paw over his eyes. Judy smiled. He really was a gentlemammal she thought.

Hearing the sounds of ruffling clothes, Nick patiently waited as Judy undressed and changed.

"Okay, I'm done."

Nick turned around to see her wearing white pajamas with lots of small floaty colorful carrot patterns swirling all throughout her sleepwear.

A half smirk formed on his snout, and he opened his mouth, about to speak when she interrupted him. "Yes, Nick. I have carrot pajamas. Come on, I'm sure you're tired."

Judy hopped up, opened the window to let some air in, and moved a bunch of her plush dolls away to make room. She scooted over to the wall and turned on her side to face it. Her ears fell down her back and onto the mattress.

Watching her get settled in, Nick picked up one of the many plush rabbits. It was soft and wearing a blue tee with a large junior ZPD badge stitched to the front.

"Do you miss home?"

She peeked over her shoulder to see him inspecting the plushie. "Sometimes. But there's still no where else I'd rather be than here." She offered him a warm smile.

Smiling back, he set the plush back down, and looked at his torn and dirty green shirt.

He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Would it be okay if I took off this shirt? I don't want to get your sheets dirty."

"I don't mind," Judy replied while returning to face the wall again.

He unbuttoned his shirt and hung it over her small desk chair. Nick pawed the mattress. It really was a rickety bed. Still much better than a stone cold floor. Slowly easing himself down, he turned to his side and curled up slightly, facing the opposite direction of Judy, left arm under his head and draped his right arm over his side. His tail hung off the edge of the small bed. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes.

With eyes half closed, Judy lightly ran her fingers against the mattress. "Nick?"

"Yeah?"

"If you were hustling two hundred dollars a day, why were you living in squalor?" she quietly asked not expecting an answer.

After a few moments of silence, he spoke up. "Long ago, I had my own place in the Nocturnal District, in one of the few apartments that would willingly let me stay. So the manager gave me the leaky basement to occupy and I slept in a makeshift bed in the bottom drawer of a large cabinet. It was mouldy, smelly, and cold... but it was home. Eventually, the property owner found out there was a fox living in the building, so they kicked me out."

He took a deep breath and continued, "I knew of an old warehouse I could squat in at the Docks. At least it had fresh air, no leaky roofs, rent free, and it was nice and quiet. As far as the money, after I give Finn his share, I just took what I needed for eating and keeping clean, and sent the rest anonymously to my Mom."

Judy's mouth was pursed, eyes wide and completely teared as she listened to his confession. The bunny desperately wanted to turn over and hug her friend. He really had such a big heart that he kept locked away from the world because that same world often treated him worse than dirt. She knew he didn't want any pity so she forced herself to lay still.

"Nick." she whispered and her voice cracked a bit, "You're always welcome to stay here anytime you want."

"Thanks, Carrots." came the barely audible response.

A few minutes passed and she looked over her shoulder, to see his faint outline in the moonlight, body slowly rising and falling to his deepening breaths.

Judy managed a weak smile, closed her eyes, and whispered, "Goodnight, Nick."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi readers! I managed to get this next one done sooner than I thought. Had a lot of fun with the park scene that just sorta popped into my head as I wrote. This will be the last chapter that uses the last bits of the movie and post credits to spring board off of towards original content and explorations.


	3. Mendings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some comedy, emotion, and fluff before the next big case. (Not the main event yet) Also, any incarnation of Mrs. Wilde is awesome.

The late morning sunshine began to peek through the single tall window and slowly fell directly onto Nick’s face, beginning to rouse him from his slumber and his ears began to twitch at the sounds of the city street below coming to life. He squinted his lidded eyes a few times but kept them shut before slightly shifting his position. It appeared he had rolled onto his back during the night. Nick was rather surprised he slept through the entire remainder of the night and actually felt incredibly rested despite the sour turn of events of the previous evening.

He felt way too comfortable. Perhaps this is what it was like to sleep in a real bed again. He remembered how even the bunks at the Academy were too stiff for his tastes. As his senses slowly came back, the fox finally noticed that something warm, soft, and heavy was resting on his torso. He didn’t remember pulling up any blankets before he had zonked out.

Opening his eyes finally, he looked down, to be greeted by a small mass of velvety gray fur just inches from his snout. Nick’s eyes immediately widened and his whole body tensed as if he was zapped by electricity. There was Judy, still sleeping soundly, completely entangling around him. Her head lay near the crook of his neck with her cheek resting on the furrier tuft of his chest, right paw on the other side with an iron grip through his longer ruffled fur. Lower down, he felt her right leg completely wrapped around him. 

Occasionally, there was a slight twitch and her toes would curl and uncurl. He would think this was cute if it wasn’t for the awkward situation he found himself in. Deep breaths revealed some very quiet snoring along with an occasional nose twitch. Noticing his right paw was sitting in the small of her back, just above her tail, he quickly snapped it away.

All Nick could do was stare in terror at the greasy ceiling above him, “Oh god, oh god...” he barely muttered to himself trying to think of a plan to untangle himself from her before she woke up. The fox had no idea how she would react to this. His heart was beating rather quickly now. Slowly shifting his weight around, he reached out with his left paw and leg against the mattress and tried to slip away but all it did was cause her to shift and tighten her grip around him, as if that was possible. He felt like some fox life preserver in a sea of blankets and she was clinging to him for dear life. 

For now, he decided to wait it out and see if she might just roll back to her side of the mattress on her own. The ex-con always had to be patient in his previous profession, he could be patient here.

Several minutes slowly ticked by. No luck. Calming down a bit, he found himself almost lulled back to sleep with Judy lying there against him. It felt strangely euphoric and so natural. Was he really supposed to feel this way about his best friend? The fox began to wonder what kind of effect this petite rabbit was having on him when suddenly that world was about to come crashing down.

A light knock came from the door, derailing his thoughts and bringing him back to alertness. Nick was suddenly willing to risk just rolling himself off the bed, consequences be damned.

A second knock. 

Judy had begun to stir and her eyes were fluttering. She felt so warm and comfortable, she didn’t want to move or get up. 

A third knock. 

Her brain was registering that someone was at her door. Just as she finished yawning she opened her eyes and looked up only to be greeted by Nick’s terrified face right in front of her muzzle. Then the realization hit her like a tsunami.

Judy bolted up, ears to the ceiling, mouth open, eyes wide, nose twitching, paws still clinched on Nick’s bare chest, assessing exactly where she had just been sleeping. “OhmygodNickIamsosorry!” the words came stammering out in rapid fire.

Bonnie and Stu’s muffled voices came from the front door, “Sweetheart, are you awake? Morning Jude the Dude! Rise and shine sleepy head.”

She gasped and brought her paws over her mouth, looking like she was straddling her best friend while her parents were at the door, “Oh sweet cheese and crackers!” She felt red from ears to toes.

Nick hadn’t moved nor said a word yet and was simply gripping the mattress in sheer terror, like a naughty kit being caught by a girlfriend’s parents.

The bunny gracefully jumped off and hopped around in panic. “Nick!” she whispered loudly. “You have to hide!”

Snapping out of it, he shot back, “Hide? Hide where? There’s nowhere in here to hide!” Making a sweeping gesture around the apartment with his paws.

Judy’s eyes fell on her small clothes rack cabinet. She flung it open and grabbed some clothing to make room, “Get in here!”

“Are you serious?” he exclaimed almost a little too loudly.

“Judy?” Bonnie called again.

“One second, Mom!”

The frantic bunny turned back to her partner pleading, “Nick, please!”

Nick quickly snatched his torn shirt off the chair and tried to squeeze into the cabinet. It was awfully small and he had to contort his body and wedged himself in. He grabbed his tail to pull it inside.

Judy attempted to close the doors on him but they weren’t closing completely. Thinking on her feet, she grabbed her desk chair and wedged it up to the door frame. This would have to do.

“Coming!” She stopped in front of her door. Composed herself, took a deep breath, and forced a smile before opening the door, revealing the worried faces of Bonnie and Stu Hopps.

“Bun-Bun, are you okay?”

“Oh hey you guys! I didn’t expect you to come over this morning!” she replied in a mock perky tone.

“We were worried, sweetheart. We called several times but your phone kept going to voicemail,” Bonnie supplied with her hands clasped in front of her.

“Yeah, we decided to make sure everything was okay,” Stu added.

The phone. Of course, Judy had forgotten her phone was broken from fighting that mugger last night. “Oh, there was nothing to worry about, Mom, Dad, we just kinda stayed up late and I ended up dropping my phone on accident on the way home. I think I broke it,” she hastily lied.

“Oh. Well either way, we wanted to have breakfast with you before we headed back home. Maybe you’d like Nicholas to join too? If your phone is broken we could call him. What’s his number?”

Nick! Her eyes nervously glanced over at the cabinet, she swore it seemed like it moved. Then from the corner of her eye, she saw his tie. It was still laying on the front edge of her desk.

“Um… I think he told me he was… pretty busy today actually. Running a bunch of errands and helping a friend...” Judy said as she conspicuously backed up, picked up both pieces of the tie and turned away so her parents couldn’t see it. She pretended to straighten her bedsheets a bit and shoved the tie underneath the blankets.

“That’s a shame. He’s such a nice young mammal.”

“Yeah… so, hey, why don’t you guys wait downstairs, let me change, and we can go eat?” she suggested, hoping to get them out of her apartment quickly.

“Sure thing hun,” Stu replied. “Let’s go wait outside Bon.”

The pair of rabbits walked out the door and headed down the hallway. Judy closed the door and banged her forehead against it, ears down, letting out a big sigh.

She quickly turned around and opened the cabinet and a fox came spilling out. He stood up and saw the apologetic look on her face.

“Nick, are you okay?” She reached out to put a paw on his arm.

“Well, that brought back some memories of something that’s probably too inappropriate to share,” he smirked trying to lighten the mood and straightening out his back and patting down his fur. “Though I think I pulled a muscle, ow…”

Judy found herself staring at him for the first time without his usual green shirt on. The mix of russet and cream colored fur ran all the way down his elongated torso. He looked so much more toned and built then she remembered. The payoffs from his gruelling nine month police academy training were clearly there. 

The fox was about to say something about her silence when a new pair of voices came from the other side of the wall. They both turned to the source.

“That was really close, wasn’t it, Bunny?”

“Yeah, I think this is the first time she finally brought a guy home.”

“Are you saying she isn’t allowed to have some fun? She is a rabbit after all.”

“Of course she is. And what does that have to do with it?”

“Oh shut up!”

“You shut up!”

“Shut your mouth!”

Judy pulled her reddening ears down over her face and simply wanted to curl into a ball right then and there and die.

Nick went from another terrified face to one of complete amusement, crossing an arm and putting the other up to his chin in mock thought, as he raised an eyebrow, smirked, and just glanced between the noisy rattling wall and Judy.

“Those two just tell it like it is, don’t they? I like them. Though I didn’t know you were such a celibate bunny, Carrots,” smirking to his partner.

“Shut up, Nick.”

* * *

After profusely apologizing a few more times, Judy changed and ran downstairs to meet her folks. Nick stayed behind, gathered his things, and waited a good fifteen minutes to make sure the coast was clear before leaving and locking the door behind him. Since Bogo had given them the weekend off, he decided to head back to the Docks and clean up.

The fox was rummaging through his few boxes of possessions. It looked like he was going to need to buy some more thread to repair his torn clothes. In the meantime he put on his other terrible yellow shirt with a light gray floral design. It was the same shirt he wore on the day he first met Judy at Jumbeaux’s Cafe. That felt like such a long time ago now. He smiled remembering her in that cute meter maid outfit.

It felt odd to not have a tie on. Like he looked a little bit less respectable without his favorite accessory. Tomorrow he would take care it. He had promised his Mom, he would finally visit her this weekend and today seemed as good as any.

He called her to arrange a time and they agreed on a late brunch. Mrs. Wilde was excited to see her son and cook him some of his favorite food. Inspecting himself one last time, he concluded that perhaps it would have been best that he didn’t wear that striped tie today, even if it hadn’t been slashed in two. His small bandage was hidden enough that his Mom hopefully wouldn't notice it.

On the way over, Nick stopped by the Otterton’s Floral Shop and purchased a small bouquet of yellow daisies. They were his Mom’s favorite. She still lived in their old home located in Savanna Central close to the Happytown slums.

Soon he found himself standing in front of the door to his childhood home. It looked like nothing had changed, as if time had stood still. But here he was, no longer that angry kit who ran away from home a year after high school. He took a breath and hit the doorbell.

Hearing the sounds of approaching footsteps, the door quickly opened, and his Mom appeared with wide open welcoming arms. She reached out to hug him something fierce. “Oh Nicholas, I am so happy to finally have you home.”

“These are for you, Mom,” he held the daisies out.

“You remembered!” she beamed with wetness building in her eyes. “Come in, make yourself comfortable while I find a vase for these.”

Nick, with hands in pockets, stepped in and looked around. Everything really was the same. Across from the doorway was the old circular mirror with the decorated thick brown frame where he once stood admiring himself in that old Ranger Scout uniform. His fingers began to play with the old red handkerchief in his right pocket.

“Here we are,” came his Mom with her pretty new flowers and placed them on the nearby table. She walked up and placed her hand on his shoulder as they both shared a brief look in the mirror. “Come, help me set the table and we can eat.”

He nodded and followed her into the kitchen.

* * *

The younger fox sat on the old sofa, stomach full of wonderfully home cooked food, leaning back against the cushion, one leg crossed over the other, with a cup of tea in hand.

Mrs. Wilde sat down with her own cup on a loveseat facing opposite him, sitting up straight with her feet crossed. She looked at her son and studied his features. It looked like he hadn’t aged much at all despite the length of his absence. He always had a youthful appearance. Nick was thinking the same thing. His mother did not look her age at all despite being in her fifties.

“Thank you for the lunch, Mom, it was wonderful,” he spoke first.

“Oh it was nothing. Let’s chat. Tell me sweetheart, how is it being a Police Officer?”

Nick finished a sip. “Oh you know, Mom. Chasing bad guys, getting all the glory in the newspapers after a big case, vixens throwing themselves at my feet,” he answered with a smirk.

His mom, simply stared back at him with those same inquisitive green eyes, looking right through his crap, but she still gave him a motherly smile. “I’m serious, Nicholas.”

“Okay, okay. It’s been… surprisingly great. It finally feels like I belong to something worthwhile, Mom. Other mammals are taking me seriously, well, some of them anyway… and I get to spend my days with my partner, who is my best friend.”

“Would that be the young pretty rabbit who spoke at your graduation? Judy, was her name?”

Her son almost choked on his sip of tea, suddenly being reminded of this morning’s events, and turning a deep red shade. He thanked God for having red fur. Mrs. Wilde slightly raised an eyebrow, noticing her son’s reaction, but said nothing.

“Yeah. Judy Hopps. I had helped her with that Missing Mammal and Nighthowler Case a year ago.”

“How did that happen? How did you meet her and get involved?”

Nick closed his half lidded eyes and decided to fully disclose, waving his free paw towards the ceiling, “Short version? I hustled her out of fifteen bucks for a jumbo pop, insulted her, left her stuck in wet cement, and then the next day she blackmailed me with felony tax evasion to help her investigation because I was her only lead when I had sold a pawpsicle to the otter who went missing,” he casually explained.

Now it was Mrs. Wilde’s turn to have her tea go down the wrong pipe. After recomposing herself, she stared back, blinking at her son with shock. His eyes indicated he was completely serious.

“I see…” she was still processing this incredulous information.

“Hard to believe? I can’t blame you, Mom,” Nick said putting his tea down.

“Oh I believe you, sweetheart. I also believe I raised you better than to insult and treat other mammals like that. You deserved that karma,” she replied with a stern look in his direction.

Nick was tempted to counter with how Judy had profiled and patronized him and to mention that he saw her carrying around fox repellant but that would have been immature and it was such a bygone that he had long forgiven her for. 

It suddenly occurred to him that if Judy hadn’t profiled him, they would have never met, there would have been no grand life changing adventure, no having her as a best friend and partner, and he would still be hustling on the streets and not sitting here reunited with his Mom. Life is strange in how some events play out.

Mrs. Wilde spoke up again after the short silence, “Tell me the whole story, Nick. I remember those city wide tensions during the disappearing incidents and after that press conference. I was afraid to leave the house sometimes.”

“Alright,” he sat up in his seat, leaning forward and placing both elbows on his knees, and clasped his paws together. “So about a year ago, I was going to this elephant ice cream shop called ‘Jumbeaux’s Cafe’. It was around noon and I went in to start my hustle for the day…”

The older fox sat and listened as her son retold the events of those crazy couple of days. Naturally, he omitted certain bits of information and downplayed the danger of almost dying several times. Then came the three month span apart from Judy when that press conference tore their new friendship to pieces, only to have her find him again with her new case revelation and heart breaking apology, more leads lead to more danger, and the impressive act they concocted to secure the necessary evidence to put away former Mayor Bellweather for her crimes. He was proud of his little rookie hustling bunny.

Finishing his tale, he shared some brief moments from the Academy and their first week together on the force, leaving out everything that happened after the concert and this morning.

Mrs. Wilde had quite the laugh when Nick told her how they had busted Flash for being a street racer on his first day as a cop. She remembered the kind sloth as a teenager. He was Nick’s only prey friend back in high school. And now her policeman son had a rabbit for a partner.

“Nick, you must bring Judy here one day. I would love to meet the bunny who changed my son’s life and brought him back to me since I did not get the chance at the graduation,” she requested with a beaming smile.

“Mom…,” he looked away from her praise in embarrassment.

“And I want to her version of that crazy story.”

“Hah. I knew there was an ulterior motive!.” he chuckled. “Sly mother.”

“Dumb son,” she quipped right back.

Another period of silence fell upon them, but this time it was comfortable. He was studying something on the wall behind her, she was looking over something on his shirt, or lack thereof.

Nick returned his gaze to his mother’s eyes and decided to change the subject. He had one burning question that was sitting in the back of his mind since he first walked back into the home.

Clearing his throat, he spoke softly, deciding to just spit it out, “Mom, I knew how tough things were for you, especially once Dad was gone so I have to admit, I secretly mailed every cent I could spare to you after I ran off. Why… why are you still living here? I thought it would have been more than enough to let you live a better life?”

“I didn’t want to spend your money,” came the curt reply.

“What? So you knew it was from me? The whole time?” he began to get visibly upset.

“I’m not some old senile vixen, Nick! No matter how clever you tried to make me think it was from some odd inheritance or life insurance payoff. I knew better.”

“Even so, why did that matter? You didn’t have to continue to live like this!” Nick found himself off the couch, arms in the air, pulling his ears down, before his paws settled onto his hips.

Mrs. Wilde, now on her feet as well, glared and pointed her finger at her son, “How can I, as a mother, take and spend my only son’s money while he was out suffering in his own self inflicted exile on the streets? I didn’t want this damn money! I WANTED MY SON BACK!” Her voice cracked and tears began to fall down her furry red cheeks.

Nick’s face fell immediately to the ground, ears flattened, pain in his heart, hands in his pockets, he was still standing but could feel he was quickly losing his ground against his mother.

But his mother wasn’t finished, “I frequently went out to the city, you know. I saw you many times from a distance. You and that small friend of yours, doing your hustles and heavens knows what else. I desperately wanted to run to you, to wrap my arms around you, to bring you home and knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. If I had tried to force you, I might have ended up pushing you away even further, possibly forever. So I sucked it up and waited. I waited every single day for the day you would call, come home, anything.” She paused to curb a sniffle and take a breath. “I even dreaded the day, I would get a call… like the day your Da…”

The son didn’t let his mother finish that last sentence, “Mom. Don’t…,” he stepped closer and opened his inviting arms for her. She closed the gap and brought him into a warm embrace. Both foxes crying lightly into each other’s shoulders.

“God, I’m such a dumb fox,” he muttered.

“But you’re my dumb fox. And you’re home. That’s all that matters to me,” she leaned her cheek against his.

“Please don’t tell Judy about this. I tease her enough about being an emotional bunny.”

Her answer was a light punch to the gut.

“Ow. I seem to have this effect on all the women in my life.”

“Why am I not surprised?” she teased as they both stepped back. “So that means you will bring Judy over?”

“Sure, Mom.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Nicholas,” she said as the tears began to vanish replaced by a warm smile. “You will need to tell me what she loves to eat so I can prepare something nice.”

“Can’t go wrong with carrots,” he suggested.

Mrs. Wilde rolled her eyes and headed back to the kitchen to get some water. He followed her and leaned into the door frame with his arms crossed.

“Mom, if you didn't spend the money… can I ask what you did do with it?”

“I’ll show you.” She gulped down her glass and motioned him to follow her.

They went up the stairs to the second floor where all the bedrooms were. His mother walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the door that was his old room, opened it, and stepped inside.

Nick didn’t know how to feel as he stepped foot inside his old den. He had just become a young adult when he ran away. All of his things looked like they were all left in place from his high school days, just more organized and kept clean. A small desk, lots of band posters, an old bookshelf full of novels and comics, and a small table with an ancient tiny TV.

Mrs. Wilde opened the closet and Nick immediately saw an addition that wasn’t there before. It was a portable tall safe wedged into the corner. She kneeled down to turn the combination and opened it.

The ex-con’s eyes shot open as he saw dozens upon dozens of large stacks of bills neatly filed away inside. There had to easily be several hundred grand in the safe.

“It’s all here. I kept it here waiting for the day I could give it back to you.”

“Unbelieveable… ” was all he could quietly muster as tossed his arms into the air for a moment.

“I have one condition,” she stood up and locked eyes with his.

“And that is?”

“You take this money and better yourself, Nicholas. I better not find out you are living in some basement, or under a bridge, and no more hustling,” she ordered while pointing at the stacks of cash.

Those words stung deep. Had she known? Or was that just a coincidence in her choice of words? He decided not to comment on that and gave her a genuine smile and met her gaze, “I promise, Mom.”

This had certainly turned into one hell of a day for Nicholas. P. Wilde. He spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening catching up with what his Mom had been up to since he left. In the end, he promised he would visit as often as he could and get a new place to live soon. He took some of the money with him, some delicious leftovers, and headed back to the Docks once again.

He had thought about contacting Judy, but then remembered her phone might still be broken. Perhaps it was better to have the weekend to themselves after what happened when they had woken up in each other’s arms. Nick still had no idea how she felt about the whole ordeal and he didn’t want to make things awkward or weird.

The fox made a mental checklist of some errands to run tomorrow and decided he would wait to see her back at the precinct on Monday.

* * *

Judy was back at her apartment, refreshing the sheets and making the bed. Her parents ended up staying a few hours longer, taking in some extra sights around Downtown. They had even brought up how one of their neighbor’s sons moved to Zootopia a few weeks ago and was single. She didn’t particularly care for these little blind date arrangements. 

The several bucks they had tried to set her up with during Nick’s academy training never usually went past one or two dates. Three was the furthest she got, and that particular jerk she had to physically knock down when he wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer towards his lecherous advances. She had lied about being too busy with work for the time being. Her mind kept drifting back to this morning’s rude awakening and basically finding out she snuggled onto Nick during the night.

Sighing, she let herself fall onto the bed. She could still catch the faint scent of his presence. She still vividly recalled the look of terror on his face. Had she offended him? Was he disgusted? Would he ever come back? Would this make things weird at work on Monday? Then the cherry on top were Bucky and Pronk’s perfectly timed inappropriate commentary. What had Nick really thought about their words? 

Biting her lower lip, she thought back to right before she had opened her eyes. She had felt so comfortable, so content, so safe at that moment. Perhaps that made sense with everything they had been through together.

She wanted to call him but her phone was still dead and most electronic repair shops would be closing soon. Judy didn’t want to wallow in uncertain thoughts. Hopping out of bed, she decided to go for a walk to the town center fountain and get some early dinner. The fresh air would do her some good. The bunny grabbed her pink iPaw and headed out.

* * *

Allowing herself to sleep in this Sunday morning, Judy felt really refreshed and changed into her sportswear. The bunny decided to go for a run before breakfast and drop off her phone somewhere to be repaired. She had a nice scenic route through Downtown that she frequently ran in her off duty time.

Several miles later, she was nearly finished with her run. She had stopped at a street corner to take a big gulp of water from her sports bottle. Refreshed, she was about to sprint the last part of her run when she noticed a red fox across the street. A red fox with a really awful yellow shirt. It was Nick! She was surprised to see him up and around so early in the day. He was walking down the street with some bags in one paw. She called out and waved to him but he was too far away to hear her. She began to run in his direction.

She saw him stop in front of a store, look at the signage, and go inside. Judy slowed to a walk and looked at the store. The sign read ‘The Gentlemammal’s Wearhouse’. The bunny peeked through the windows. It looked like the store catered to high quality formal wear. She spotted Nick again off to the side. He was studiously looking through a selection of ties. Remembering how his striped tie was slashed in half the other day and how upset he was about it, he must be getting a replacement. Judy expected him to pick out a similar style but instead he chose a very elegant solid rich violet tie. Nick inspected it closely, smiled, and headed to the register.

The fox walked up to the counter. Suddenly a slender red vixen appeared from behind ready to ring him up. She was a little bit shorter than Nick, had light blue eyes, her fur was a few tints lighter, and wore a very flattering v-neck white blouse. The vixen looked at Nick with very flirty eyes and a sweet smile and began to chit chat with him. 

Judy smiled that it was nice that maybe Nick could make a new friend or even a date with that charm of his, but then she felt something in the pit of her stomach at that thought. Feeling suddenly apprehensive, she admonished herself. Was she feeling a little sad? Possibly even a little jealous? No, that would be completely silly. She heard some laughter and was able to make out their conversation. She really should walk away but couldn’t. The bunny came closer to the window with ears perked up.

“Sir, you look very familiar, have I seen you shop with us before?”

“No ma’am. First time here. Was shopping around to get a replacement tie. My old one had a bit of an accident,” he replied with his usual friendly smirk.

Nick placed the tie on the countertop and reached for his wallet. Flipping it open, revealed his officer badge pinned to the inside fold.

Her eyes went wide, “Police Officer? Wait, I saw you in the newspaper! You must be Officer Wilde, the first fox policeman in Zootopia! What an incredible accomplishment! I know so many of my friends who were amazed when they read about you.”

“Well, thank you, that’s too kind of you. Please call me Nick,” he smiled back. Before he had to always pretend to be someone or something else while hustling to get any sort of praise. This was an unexpected and welcome change. 

“Ah. Well, this is a beautiful color, Nick. It will look great on you. I’m Tina by the way! The tie will be $110 even. 10% discount for first time shoppers,” she winked.

“Wonderful. This color reminds me of my ZPD partner. We’ve been through alot together, even before I applied to the Academy.”

“That’s so sweet, this partner must mean a lot to you,” she cooed while ringing up his order.

“Yeah, one in a million.” He paused, glancing up for a moment then smirking, “Probably closer to one in a hundred million. Literally.”

Judy’s eyes widened at Nick’s comments. The tie reminded him of her? She looked at it again and then squinted in thought, nose twitching. Looking back at the window, she focused on her own reflection and then came the realization. The tie was the same exact shade of violet like her eyes. She blinked and remembered the day in the park where he made the lavender association with her middle name and irises and teased her on his use of ‘quixotry’. All of a sudden, she found herself feeling a lot warmer.

Nick removed the price tag and held up the tie while pointing to the full body mirror behind him, “May I?”

“Of course. Do you need any help?”

“Thank you but I have to keep in practice,” he winked and stood in front of the mirror, flipped his collar up and deftly looped the tie around and began to form a perfect half-windsor knot. He tucked it down, fixed his collar, and placed his hands on his hips, “Ah, looking good.”

He reached down to grab his things and waved goodbye to the vixen, “Thank you Tina, have a nice day!”

Judy was still standing next to the window lost in her thoughts, when a sudden voice directed at her made her jump.

“Carrots?”

“Oh hey, Nick! What are you doing here?” was her weak attempt to pass off the coincidence.

“I was going to ask you the same thing. Minus the ‘Nick’ part,” he smiled.

“Funny fox. I was going for a Sunday morning run. I usually run through here and I was going to drop off my phone to be repaired. I see you got a new tie!” she managed.

“Sure did. I felt naked without one,” he said then made a face at his word choice.

The two stared at one another for a few moments, before they broke into some laughs. 

Their laughter was interrupted when Tina came outside the store looking for Nick. “Oh, Nick, I forgot to give you our business card!”

She handed him a business card with her cell phone number on the back. He accepted it and saw the handwritten number and raised his eyebrows. The vixen then noticed the petite rabbit in a black sports bra and runner leggings standing awfully close to him. She peered at Judy for a few moments. Her eyebrow arched when she noticed the young bunny’s eyes and then to Nick’s new tie and back, causing her mouth to purse and eyes widen a bit.

“Ah, Tina, this is my partner, Officer Judy Hopps,” Nick introduced Judy and put a paw on her small shoulder, giving her a light side hug and smiled.

Judy instinctively squeezed his paw for a moment before flashing a perky smile and waved, “Hi Tina, it’s nice to meet you!”

“Oh, hello Officer Hopps,” Tina replied in a sudden neutral tone. 

It was there for only a brief moment but Nick saw the sudden shift in demeanor, body language, and the subtle look of disgust in Tina’s eyes. He kept his smirk up as the vixen silently went back inside the store. He moved his paw to Judy’s back and motioned for her to begin walking.

“Nick?”

“It’s nothing, Carrots.”

He flipped the business card around a few times in his paw and threw it into a nearby recycle bin.

“I don’t understand. Didn’t she give you her number? Isn’t that mean?” she asked looking up at him, biting her lip, ears drooping.

He glanced back down to his best friend and smiled, “I don’t date bigots.”

“Oh…” she paused looking back at the store, feeling sad and disappointed, then she turned back to face Nick.

The fox leaned forward on his haunches to meet his partner’s eyes, “If you need to get your phone fixed I know a guy who will take a look at it for free and give you a good price,” he offered.

“Because you know everybody.”

“Uh huh, sure do.”

The bunny smiled back with her ears returning upright, “That would be wonderful.”

“Let’s go then Officer Fluff, it’s just down the next street,” he pointed and began to walk in direction of the store.

Judy skipped next to him and fell in step with his pace. “What’s in the bags?”

“Just a few small items I needed. I saw my Mom yesterday by the way.”

“REALLY!?” she hopped in excitement.

“Yeah, we sorted things out,” he said keeping his eyes forward.

“Oh Nick, that’s fantastic. I’m so happy for you!” he had to stop when the small bunny reached over and hugged him.

He squeezed her back, “She wants to meet you one of these days for dinner.”

“Me?”

“How many other life changing rabbits do I know?” This earned him a punch in the arm. He found it strange that he missed that. “Think you’re up for it, Carrots?”

“I’d love to meet her,” she replied meeting his eyes.

The duo’s trepidation had disappeared when they sank back into their familiar comfort with one another. Nick smiled and stopped at the next store, “And here we are! Mike’s Electronics Shack.”

He opened the door for Judy and she walked inside. Nick followed her in and greeted the owner.

* * *

The owner, Mike, a friendly caribou was able to fix Judy’s phone and replaced the cracked screen. With his newfound cash, Nick decided to pick up an inexpensive laptop. Mike sold it to him for a really good deal.

After waiting around for the phone repair, Nick and Judy exited the shop and continued walking while she went through all of her missed texts and voicemails and finally cleared them out. She called her parents to let them know that her phone was fixed. Nick and her parents exchanged greetings and a few words while she chatted with them on MuzzleTime when he had peeked over her ears to annoy her.

The two grabbed brunch and were heading back towards her apartment when Judy had an idea.

“Hey Nick?”

“Hm?”

“Can that laptop play DVDs?”

“Sure can, why?” he glanced down.

“Oh, I was thinking we could watch a movie together if you aren’t doing anything else today?” she looked up.

“Alright, Carrots. Pick the flick and let’s get some popcorn.”

“I know the perfect movie!”

“It’s not gonna be some kind of bunny rom-com is it?” he smirked expecting a smack. And there it was right on queue.

“Har. Har. Actually, it’s a spy movie and it does star a rabbit AND a fox,” she stuck her tongue out. “Ever heard of Savage City?”

Nick arched an eyebrow at her, “Can’t say that I have.”

“Then we’re watching it!” she grinned. “There’s a video rental near my place.”

* * *

They were back in Judy’s apartment. She was popping the popcorn in her tiny microwave while Nick sat at her desk setting up the laptop. 

“Does your building offer free Wi-Fi?” he asked.

“Sure does. The network is PB&J.”

“Hah. Password?”

“P-G-A-A-1-2-3-4,” she supplied while taking the popcorn out and pouring it into a large bowl.

“How original,” he drawled. He picked up the DVD case next to him and flipped through the front and back covers. “Savage City… starring Agents Jack Savage and Sky Danger? Really? Who comes up with these names?” 

Looking at the cover art, the rabbit in question had white fur with blue eyes and several dark stripes on his ears and head. It made him think of Judy’s black ear tips. The vixen had a solid light tan fur color with purple eyes. He popped the DVD into the loading tray.

Judy snickered. “Come on, it’s really good. They’re both spies! There’s lots of action, chases, and big explosions!” she was already sitting on the bed, popcorn in lap, and made a big arching boom gesture with both paws above her head.

“Oh, so we’re actually watching a Michael Prey film?”

“I don’t know how I put up with you,” she sighed.

Nick chuckled as he jumped out of the seat, moved it out of the way, positioned the laptop and hit play. He jumped backwards onto the bed causing Judy to grab the bowl to keep the popcorn from spilling. She shot him a nasty glare.

“Whoopsie,” he smirked at her as he shuffled to put his back to the wall, crossing his legs and putting his hands in his lap.

“Irritating fox.”

“Mean bunny.”

The opening theme song began to play as the fox and rabbit shared their popcorn and watched the intro.

“I think I know why you like this,” Nick declared.

“Do I dare ask why, Nick?” she gave him a sideways glance.

“The lead is a rabbit and the sidekick is a fox. They’re basically the opposite of us,” he pointed out.

“Oh, so you think you’re in charge and I’m the sidekick, hmmm? I do believe I outrank you and I’m your senior officer, Slick,” she smiled his way with half lidded eyes.

“Rank is just a four letter word, Officer Fluff,” he looked down.

“Nick?”

“Yeah?”

“No more talking during the movie, partner,” she ordered.

“You’re the boss, partner,” he quietly obeyed as the intro song ended and the opening scene began.

As the movie continued and the popcorn bowl emptied, they sat shoulder to shoulder watching the action. Judy slowly leaned against him and everything felt great. Nick started for a moment at the contact but allowed himself to enjoy her warmth. Both mammals had forgotten the shenanigans of yesterday morning for now and just enjoyed each other’s company for the rest of the afternoon.


	4. Sly Robbers, Sly Coppers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This little self contained case is based on something I read about in an article once that actually happened and tried to adapt it for Nick and Judy to solve. I hope it works! Still keeps their relationship moving forward. And Bogo cares.

The first half of the new week passed quickly with no major incidents for the officers of Precinct One.

Thursday morning rolled around and Judy entered the bullpen. She spied Nick already sitting in their shared seat in the front row tossing back his usual cup of coffee. He had already scooted to the right side of the chair leaving room for her arrival. 

Smiling, she hopped up and greeted her partner, “Morning, Nick!”

“Ugh. It is way too early to be so chipper, Carrots,” he took another swig of his brew.

“Okay, cranky fox. Why do you look so tired?”

“I stayed up way too late working on a few things,” he mumbled while placing his free arm on the counter.

Before Judy could say more, the bullpen got fired up as Chief Bogo entered from the side door and took his position behind the podium.

“Alright! Everybody sit,” the cape buffalo ordered.

The room quieted and Bogo began to hand out assignments. Nick and Judy’s task came last.

“Hopps. Wilde. We have a new report of a robbery yesterday outside of the First Rainforest Financial Bank near the border of the Rainforest and Canal Districts. Suspect has fled without a trace. This incident matches several previous robberies throughout the city. Go to the bank and find out what you can. I want this mammal found.” Bogo handed them the dossier. “Dismissed.”

The pair now sat side-by-side at their shared desk flipping through the various case files. 

Judy quickly read through the information, “Seems like there is only one robber, a medium sized mammal who looked like a construction worker, attacked one of the bank guards as they were transferring money from the armored car, took the large bag of money, and fled on foot. Then vanished.”

“These witness reports say there was a gathering of several dozen construction workers at the bank that same morning matching the robber’s attire,” Nick added. 

“Nothing on camera?”

“They didn’t have any on the outside of the building.”

Grabbing their cruiser keys, Judy hopped out of her seat, “Let’s head down to the bank and get some statements and check the scene ourselves.”

“Right behind you, Carrots,” he said while grabbing his aviators.

* * *

They arrived at the First Rainforest Financial that was located on Ivy St. It was a small and plain two story square building covered in lush green fauna. The bunny was walking ahead of her partner while the fox paused to survey the street. Several commercial and financial buildings lined the street, all designed with a canopy motif even if they were on ground level. In the distance he saw the waters of the Canal District. Right next to the bank was a small pedestrian bridge extending over a waterway running east and west.

Entering the lobby, they were greeting by a female jaguar, “Hello Officers. How may I help you?”

“Hello Ma’am, I am Officer Judy Hopps and this is my partner, Officer Nicholas Wilde, we are here to ask some questions about yesterday’s robbery,” the bunny replied in a friendly tone.

“Of course Officers, please follow me to the Manager’s office. She will be able to discuss the incident with you.”

The employee lead them around to the side of the bank teller wall, up the stairs, and down a tiny hallway that ended with an office with the words ‘Branch Manager’ written on a door plaque. The jaguar knocked first and then opened the door.

“Miss Cathoun, there are two officers from the ZPD here to see you.”

The manager stood and waved them in. She was a tall leopard dressed in a light gray business suit. 

“Officers, my name is Azita Cathoun, please sit,” she gestured to the two empty seats in front of her dark mahogany desk.

“Pleased to meet you Miss Cathoun, I’m Officer Hopps and this is Officer Wilde. Your staff informed us you could provide information on yesterday’s robbery,” the bunny greeted while taking out her pen and notepad and took a seat. 

Nick chose to stand behind Judy, removing his aviators, and kept his paws behind his back. 

Azita nodded but kept a lingering glance towards Nick before returning eye contact with Judy. After last week’s incident with that vixen, Judy found herself more aware of how some mammals regarded her partner or the two of them together. Her right paw was clenching her pen. She wanted to say something but looked to Nick who kept his usual smirk neutral, said nothing, and stood at attention. The bunny decided to follow his lead and keep it professional.

Judy turned back to Azita and began, “Miss Cathoun, please describe the events of yesterday morning if you will.”

“Certainly. It was early Wednesday morning. I was here in my office, when I began to hear a commotion outside of my window.” The leopard pointed to the south facing window to their left. “By the time I looked outside, the guard was doubled over on the ground, covering his eyes and I saw a construction worker fleeing down the alley with one of our money bags. It happened so quickly I couldn’t identify him from here. By the time myself and a few of my employees ran outside, he was already gone and our building was surrounded by several construction workers wearing the exact same articles of clothing as the mammal I saw. We called the ZPD but the Officers who arrived didn’t find anything.”

Nick spoke up, “Ma’am do you know why those workers were gathered here? Was there any construction scheduled for that day?”

“No, Officer Wilde. We didn’t have anything scheduled for our building. The workers were just… standing around and waiting. They never actually did any work and they all left after the ZPD arrived and the robber was gone.”

He nodded and smiled for the information and looked at the window, “May I?”

“Yes, Officer.”

Judy transcribed all of the information from the exchange onto her notepad and watched Nick walk over to the window, open it, and peek through. As he was looking around, she turned back to the manager and asked, “Is the guard that was attacked here today?”

“No, Officer Hopps, we gave him a few days to rest. The spray used against him was very strong and his doctor requested five days for his vision to recover. I can give you his contact if you’d like.”

“That would be very appreciated, Ma’am.”

Her partner was done with his inspection, closed the window, and returned to her side as she jotted down the guard’s name and information.

“Do you have any more information that might be useful, Miss Cathoun?” Judy asked.

“I am afraid that’s all I know, Officer.”

“Thank you, this was still very helpful,” Judy replied and she and Nick showed themselves out.

Back outside on the busy street, the bunny looked to her partner, “Did you get anything from looking outside, Nick?”

“Actually, I want to look around the south side and see where our robber may have ran,” he pointed to the alley next to the small bridge while putting his aviators back on.

His partner nodded and followed him around the side. They checked the area where the armored car would have been parked next to the employee only loading and unloading zone.

The fox took in the layout and sniffed around before speaking up, “So it looks like the armored car has to circle from around the other side and backs up here.” He pointed to the marked zone before continuing. “Our robber probably waited for the right opportunity by hanging out amongst those other unsuspecting workers, came over here, blinded our guard once he was alone, grabbed a bag of money, and could have ran off in this direction…”

“But you don’t think he went down any of these two alleys because someone would have probably seen him,” she stated.

“Bingo,” he smirked.

“The only other direction would be…”

“The waterway over there.” Nick thumbed behind himself. “Let’s take a look, shall we?”

The duo walked back over to the small bridge. A small fence was there to prevent anyone from falling below. The sunken waterway was mammal made with tall slanted concrete walls to protect the nearby buildings from flooding. The water was flowing at a moderate pace. Nothing too dangerous unless an inexperienced swimmer was caught in the undertow.

As they looked around, they turned in the opposite direction, to the sounds of laughter. A bunch of kits were playing in the water, jumping from the high areas and splashing around. A few of them had floatables including an inner tube.

One of them jumped into the tube and quickly sped down with the moving water, under the bridge and out the other side before maneuvering back to the side and running back to their friends with the tube.

Nick, smirked, he remembered doing similar things as a kit and spoke up, “Hah. That kit was going pretty fast there, when we used to play in waterholes we would...” his words trailed off as a realization hit. “Pretty fast… that’s it!”

Judy picked up on the same thought process and looked at her partner, “Nick, the inner tube! If he had something similar hidden here, it wouldn’t look suspicious and the current would have taken him away from here pretty quickly! And look at the sight lines! I don’t think you can see into the waterway from the streets.”

“That’s right, Carrots. None of these buildings,” he gestured, “are very tall. I couldn’t see down here from the bank window. Our sly robber could just toss his costume off with all the trash that floats around and collects on the sides, hold the bag out of sight, and just look like some regular mammal going for a little fun in the sun. The water would also muddle his scent. Look there? The Canal District is just a short water ride away.”

“And that’s probably where he escaped because all of the available officers would have eyes here in this district,” Judy pointed out with an excited hop smiling to her partner.

Nick lifted his aviators and winked, “Let’s get back to the station and check Records for matching information and give the guard a call to see if he was able to get a glimpse of our mammal before getting sprayed.”

The officers headed back to their cruiser and drove back to the precinct.

* * *

Back at the ZPD, Judy sat at her desk talking on the phone with the bank guard, while Nick had taken the case files and gone to the Records archive to search out any articles and reports that were posted on the same dates as the previous robberies.

Unfortunately, the guard, who was a ram, was attacked so quickly that all he saw was a blur before being blinded, knocked to the ground, and the robber grabbed the money bag and ran. He was not able to provide more information for Judy.

Noticing Nick hadn’t come back yet, she was tempted to go help him when her stomach growled. The rabbit sighed in embarrassment and scribbled a note for Nick and left the station to bring back some lunch.

Having spent the rest of the morning in Records, Nick finally came out with a fair amount of articles to cross reference for the case. He came back to their desk and saw his partner missing. Seeing the note, he picked it up and read it. Placing it back down with a smile, he began to arrange the files and decided to wait for Judy to return. 

Swiveling around in his seat, he pulled out his phone and remembered he hadn’t continued his word game with her. Nick fired up the app, looked at his available letters, got a devilish grin and tapped in his choice. FoxyWithTheMoxy turned Laverne’s word of SHIP into SHIPYARD and scored a double off the letter D overtaking the score 19-9. Judy was not going to be happy with this.

Just as Nick was sitting there reclining in his seat and basking in his self satisfaction, a spicy cricket burrito showed up in front of his snout. The fox stopped spinning in his seat and glanced over to see that his partner returned with their lunch. He took a whiff of the wonderful scent and smacked his lips, “Am I a lucky fox? Yes. Yes I am,” he said snatching the burrito from Judy’s paw.

“Someone’s really happy,” she giggled while getting her own lunch out of the bag.

“Mmmmph,” was his only response.

Judy sat down and placed her phone on the desk counter along with her lunch, a leafy salad filled with bok choy, basil, cilantro, celery, and carrots with some apple vinegar. There was a blinking notification catching her attention.

Nick had finished quickly and looked her way, ”That was delicious!” He made a mock kissing gesture with his paw. He decided to fill her in while she continued to eat, “I found a bunch of info we should go over. Let’s take these to one of the empty Interview Rooms and we can pin them up, shall we?”

She looked over and nodded in agreement, swallowing her food, “Sounds great!”

Purposefully waiting for her to take another bite and begin chewing, he gathered all the files and began to walk away when he called back, “Your turn now for the word game!”

Still chewing a mouthful of salad, she looked at her phone and unlocked it with her free paw and saw his word play and the updated score, “Nnmmiiickkkmph!” 

* * *

Later, inside empty Interview Room #2, they hung up all the evidence and began pouring over the details. They had pushed red pins over all the bank locations on a Zootopia city map and hung up pictures of the buildings as well as other pictures that were taken from the scenes that coincidentally included large crowds of various mammals in front of all the buildings.

“Okay,” Nick began, “first let’s look at all of the locations. Notice where all the banks are?”

“They’re all small branches and located next to some kind of body of water.”

“Yup. Our robber’s favorite choice and exit method. I’d wager he may even have a boat stashed somewhere down his escape route which could also mean a possible accomplice. I always did prefer a two mammal hustle, myself,” he smirked towards Judy with a raised eyebrow.

Judy winked and gestured to the pictures of the gathered mammals, “And these workers? Looks like a mix of construction workers, street performers, and even protestors. They’re all different so that no one catches on. But… how does he get them all to show up?”

“Glad you asked, Officer Fluff,” Nick dramatically wiggled his paw and reached down to pull up an article with some information on it. “One of the papers interviewed some of the mammals and they said they responded to some online job posting on MammalsList that was paying top dollar per hour for a temp gig and had specific instructions on what to wear and where to meet. It was very specific on attire, date, and time… time meaning the schedule of the money delivery.”

“So the robber shows up wearing the exact same outfit as everyone else, hides in the crowd, and waits to strike and then uses them as decoys,” Judy pointed out.

“You got it. And I bet if there’s a low turnout, he simply abandons the job if he thinks it’s not worth the risk,” Nick continued. “Worst case, there’s a bunch of angry and annoyed solicitors left on the street.”

“Yes! This is great, Slick!” she lightly tapped his arm but then realized her excitement might have been a bit premature.

“But…” he began again.

“But that means… we have to narrow down banks that fit the M.O., get their money delivery schedules, and look for an upcoming job posting,” Judy concluded while cupping a paw on her chin. “Nick, I don’t think we can do all this ourselves. We should tell Chief Bogo.”

“You’re probably right, Carrots.”

“Let’s go see if he’s in his office right now,” Judy said while heading to the room exit.

* * *

Chief Bogo sat unmoving, arms crossed on his desk, as he listened to his two officers brief him on their case’s findings. He removed his glasses as he leaned forward, “This is quite the elaborate ruse this robber operates on if your deductions are correct, Officers. Your findings have enough merit that I will assign the Cyber Crime Department to immediately check and monitor for leads on our mammal’s next fake job posting on the most common job and event listings sites.”

The bunny and fox exchanged a happy glance.

Bogo turned to Judy, “Hopps, I want you to prepare a report on all possible bank locations that have not been hit yet to pass on for reference to the CCD. I also want you to contact each of these branches and request their delivery schedules and names of all the guards assigned to guard the vehicles.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“We will need to wait till he makes his next move before we can proceed further but this time we will be there ready for him. I will assign additional Officers to aid you once the time comes. Good work both of you,” Bogo stated as he put the updated case file down. “After you’re finished take the rest of the shift off. Be on standby for any developments. Hopps dismissed. Wilde remain.”

Judy shot Nick a concerned look of ‘what did you do this time?’ but all her partner could do was shrug.

“Yes, Chief, thank you,” as she hopped down from the seat and closed the door after she exited.

Nick turned back to Bogo after watching Judy leave and straightened up in the seat. He felt a little nervous but his poker face hid the fact. They stared at one another in classic Bogo stand-off fashion when the cape buffalo finally spoke.

“Wilde, it’s come to my attention that you and Hopps stopped an attempted mugging after the Gazelle concert last week while off duty and that you suffered a small stab wound.”

Nick didn’t expect the Chief to bring that up, so he relaxed in his seat and leaned on his elbow, “Well, Sir, it’s just a flesh wound and I hear the ladies dig scars so…”

“Shut it, Wilde!” the chief unexpected bellowed, causing Nick to sit straight and shut his mouth immediately as Bogo slammed a fist down.

The Chief’s nostrils flared and pointed a hoof at Nick before he continued, ”You may think it’s a joke, but I care about the personal well being of all my officers and that includes you. I found out that your mugger has several priors and I personally intend to make sure he is prosecuted to the full extent for assaulting one of my top Officers.” The buffalo leaned back in his seat and waved him off. “Go help Hopps finish her assignment and take the afternoon off. Dismissed.”

“Sir…”

“NOW Wilde!”

“Um, yup, got it,” Nick saluted and quickly skulked out of the office.

Bogo let a rare smile form on his face and then picked up more reports to check.

The fox exited the office and exhaled a deep breath while putting his paws on his hips. Judy had been waiting in the hallway and came up to her partner, case file clutched in front of her chest, her ears fell and she gave him a concerned look, “Nick are you okay? What happened in there?”

Her partner adjusted his field dress tie and smiled down, “It’s nothing, Carrots. Let’s finish up our assignment and head out of here.” He pawed her shoulders, turning her around, and lightly pushed her onward.

She decided to drop the issue and looked over her shoulder, “Want to hang out when we’re done?”

Nick paused for a moment, thinking about the rare opportunity to have a weekday afternoon off, and replied, “I’ll have to take a raincheck, Fluff, I actually need to take care of something.”

“Oh. Okay,” she sounded a tiny bit disappointed.

The fox picked up on his partner’s mood and put a paw on her shoulder and smiled warmly. Judy smiled back and they headed to their shared desk. They had a case to finish prepping.

* * *

Officer Wilde found himself standing outside of a newer Downtown complex called the ‘Walnut Midtown West’ named for being close to Walnut St. that ran near Savanna Central, Downtown, and the Central Town Square. It was even closer to the ZPD headquarters than Judy’s apartment.

He had left the station without changing. Despite the ugly turn of events with that vixen, Tina, Nick learned he could try using his newfound policeman status to get some better respect and possible leverage in dealing with landlords who may have biases against foxes. Looking over the listing once more, he entered the building and approached the housing office.

Upon entering the office, Nick knocked on the open door frame to catch the attention of the landlord sitting at his desk. He was a large brown bear, dressed in a simple white collared shirt and dark slacks, who flashed him a large grin.

“Ah, hello Officer, how may I help?” came the warm greeting in a thick accent.

Nick smiled. Alright, score one for the uniform, “Greetings, Sir, my name is Nicholas Wilde, and I was interested in seeing this available flat I found in your housing advertisement.” The fox held up the ad and pointed to the listing.

“Of course, of course, please,” he gestured with his large paw and picked up some keys. “I am Morris Bearkovich.”

“Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Bearkovich.”

Following the bear up to the sixth floor and down a large hallway, they came to a corner unit at the far end. Morris unlocked the door and allowed Nick to enter.

Upon entering the large flat, Nick whistled as he took in the unit. The entry opened into a very spacious living room with a dark wood floor joined by a breakfast bar countertop connected to the kitchen that lined most of the far wall. To the right of the kitchen was a north facing large sliding door that led outside to a small patio that lined the entire length of the unit’s wall. The view showed a nice skyline of the Downtown area including the ZPD building.

To his right he could see two small storage closets and two rooms, the master bedroom and a smaller office. The fox peeked inside and saw that the two rooms shared a nice sized bathroom, shower, and a fur dryer was already installed in the floor. Upon inspecting the rooms, he saw the master had a walk-in closet, while the office space had a sliding door closet. Everything looked fairly new.

Nick loved it. Now was time to see if he could haggle an affordable price. He calculated that with the money he was going to receive from his Mom, he could make this work. Little did he know that Lady Luck was actually going to smile upon him for once and his hustling skills wouldn’t be needed.

“Mister Wilde, I have question,” Morris asked, breaking the fox from his thoughts.

“Yes?” a small feeling of apprehension settled in Nick’s stomach.

“Many months ago, I saw on TV that a rabbit and fox solved Nighthowler case, yes? Was the fox, you?” Mr. Bearkovich kindly asked in broken speech, thick with his native accent.

The fox raised an eyebrow but kept a genuine smile and replied, “Yes, sir. I had assisted the bunny, Officer Judy Hopps, in solving the case, although I was not a police officer at the time.”

Never in a hundred years could Nick have predicted the next moment when he was suddenly grabbed and put in a literal giant bear hug. Now he finally met someone who could outmatch Judy and his mother’s crazy strong hugging prowess.

After he was set down, Morris clasped his giant paws together, “My cousin, Mikhail, was a missing mammal. Whole family worried we would never seen him again. Thank you for bringing him back and putting bad mayor away.”

“It’s no problem, Sir, it’s what we do at the ZPD,” Nick answered remembering when Judy used that line in the Rainforest District during that case when she had saved his life.

“You like flat?” the bear asked with a sincere look in his eyes.

“Love it, actually,” Nick gestured enthusiastically.

“Wonderful! Come to office, I give you great price and we work out deal, yes?” Morris declared as he turned towards the door.

With his own beaming smile, Nick nodded and folded the ad and put it his pocket while reaching for his phone as he followed Mr. Bearkovich back downstairs.

“Nicholas! How are you sweetheart?” came the sweet greeting.

“Hey Mom. Do you happen to be free this afternoon?”

“I have no plans.”

“I need you to do something for me, please…”

* * *

Still waiting on leads for their robbery case from the CCD, the two were assigned to patrol a new area they hadn’t visited before, the Canyonlands, that was located in the north part of Sahara Square that bordered the giant climate wall that separated the hot weather biomes from icy Tundratown.

As Judy drove their cruiser throughout the region, they both took in the magnificent natural sights of this particular biome. The small patches of residential and commercial areas had bright earthy Spanish style motifs built from the rocks themselves. Several homes and offices were even carved into the large sweeping mesas and plateaus that littered the habitat acting as natural red, yellow, and orange colored skyscrapers.

They had stopped at a small quaint ice cream parlor, called ‘32 Below’ located near the raised railway where Judy once passed through when she first traveled to the city. The two picked up some natural handmade popsicles called paletas that were made from real fruits and juices. Judy had gotten a strawberry paleta while Nick, naturally, was enjoying a blueberry one while leaning against the building in the shade under the shop’s awning with his aviators on.

“Mmmm, this is so good, Nick! What do you think?” Judy asked after taking a few more licks.

“This? I’ve had better,” he teased.

“Claiming your old pawpsicles were superior, are we?” she shot back waving her paleta at him.

“I wouldn’t be a good business mammal if I didn’t, Fluff,” he winked.

“Want to watch a movie tonight at my place? We can both be ready to go on short notice if we get the call about the case,” Judy asked.

“Sorry, Carrots, I have to pass again,” came the response.

Looking down, Nick felt terrible, when he watched Judy’s ears drop at his answer.

“Nick? You’re not avoiding hanging out with me, are you?” came the soft inquiry.

“What? No, no, no,” he kneeled down to match Judy’s height and pulled his aviators to the top of his head, “I actually found a new place and I was trying to get it all squared away and surprise you.”

“What? You did? Where?” she suddenly bounced in excitement.

“Downtown. A place called the ‘Walnut Midtown West’, he smirked. “No more sleeping for me in that old warehouse or at the police station.”

“You slept at the station too!?” Judy’s paws just hung down her sides almost dropping her paleta in bewilderment. She closed her eyes and took a breath while forcing a smile. “Do you need any help getting settled?”

“Don’t worry, Carrots, I’m good. But thank you. You’ll be my first guest for the housewarming, how’s that sound?” he stood back up and took another taste of his treat.

“Okay, Slick.” she relented and hugged her partner.

The bunny and fox pair finished their paletas and hopped back into the cruiser and continued their patrol. Their shift ended without any major incidents and they drove back to Downtown. They said their goodbyes and parted ways. Judy was excited to see what Nick’s new place would look like. She was so happy that he would finally have a real place to call home.

* * *

Monday arrived and they were out on patrol in Savanna Central when the police radio lit up and Clawhauser’s friendly voice came through the speaker, “Dispatch to Car Z-240, come in Z-240.”

Nick grabbed the com, “Z-240 here, Wilde speaking, go ahead Dispatch.”

“Officer Wilde, the Chief has requested you and Officer Hopps return to the station immediately, we have a possible lead on your case. Over.”

“Roger that, Dispatch, on our way. Wilde out.”

The two officers exchanged looks of joy and Nick punched the siren and lights and Judy sped back to the station.

Several other Officers were called back and huddled into the bullpen where Chief Bogo stood waiting to brief his officers. Once everyone took a seat he put on his glasses and began.

“The CCD has just notified me of a job posting that matches our robber’s usual set up for a large gathering at the WSC Financial Group Bank near Harbour St. in West Savanna Central this Thursday morning at 10AM. The location matches their preferred target choice and there is a delivery scheduled at that time.”

Nick just had to add something stupid, “Can we call him the ‘Waterway Bandit’ Sir?”

“Shut up now, Wilde!” came the immediate roar.

The other officers fought real hard to not snicker and Judy elbowed her partner. Nick quieted himself as he rubbed his side.

Bogo continued to glare at him and then resumed his briefing, “The listing is asking for mammals to come join in an anti-interspecies relationships protest dressed in a red cap, red shirt, and black jeans and a protest sign under the guise of spreading awareness and offering all supporters a large one time fee for their time. The robber even created a fake organization to stage the event. The bank is located next to a few civic buildings, hence his choice of protesters.”

Suddenly a wave of disgust and rumbling fell among the ranks of the bullpen. Judy felt sick in her stomach while Nick’s usual smirk turned into a hard grimace.

“I know this is terrible officers, but we must endure, and put this mammal away,” Bogo calmed the room down. “We will provide the proper attire for the officers blending into the crowd. Officers Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Delgato, Wolfard, Jackson, and Johnson will be crowd detail. Higgins, Snarlof, and myself will be providing helicopter support. Hopps, I want you hiding near the waterway ready to intercept incase he is a fast mammal and have eyes on Wilde.”

The Chief paused for a brief moment. The bunny and fox exchanged side glances. Nick was curious what his specific role might be and was ready to make a joke about Judy having eyes on him when Bogo spoke first, “Wilde, you have a special assignment. The regular security guard at this location is a sheep. You will use Wolfard’s undercover costume and take his place.”

“Nothing like getting some mace in the face to make the world a better place, right Sir?”

This time the bullpen took the opportunity to laugh hysterically and break the tension. Even Judy had to chuckle and admire Nick’s unstoppable snarkiness.

The cape buffalo furiously gripped his podium but let the humor clear the mood, “Alright, that’s enough! You will all be issued standard tranquilizer pistols and undercover earpieces and mics. I do not want this mammal getting away! Back to your previous assignments and come in 5AM sharp on Thursday for final preparations. Dismissed!”

* * *

It was a hot Thursday morning and soon the mammals who answered the listing began to show up in their red caps, shirts, and dark jeans with protest signs a few minutes before 10AM and began to protest spreading all over the front and sides of the building on the street corner. Judy had set up a small hidden vantage point on a railing, between the bank and the nearby waterway facing the armored car delivery location. The police cruisers were parked a short distance away and covered.

The rest of the undercover Officers arrived on foot and joined the crowd doing their best to spread out and subtly keep eyes on the mammals around them while pretending to rally the anti interspecies relationship cause. Nick was inside the bank finishing with his own costume and was ready to meet the truck when it arrived. The real guard was told to wait out of sight in another room.

10:05AM. Wolfard spotted the truck approaching and quietly spoke into his shoulder pretending to wipe his brow, “Hopps, Wilde, the truck is almost here.”

Judy picked up her radio, “Roger, Wolfard. Nick, be ready.”

“I was born ready, Carrots.”

She rolled her eyes but didn’t want to egg him on into making more wisecracks. The truck circled around and backed up into the unloading area. The drivers stepped out and signaled for the door to be opened and begin the transfer.

Nick was waiting on the other side. “Show time,” he whispered and opened the door and moved to his guard position next to the back of the truck and helped unload the money bags.

The drivers shuffled in and out with the transfers. After several minutes, someone egged the protestors on to get louder and get really close to the building. All kinds of loud bigotry was spewed by the hateful mammals. Some of the Officers struggled with keeping their composure but had no choice and didn’t want to arouse any suspicion. 

Once both drivers took a bag each, Nick was standing alone with a bag in hand, when a single mammal left the crowd and approached him with a sign, his cap was tugged real low. Judy saw the approaching mammal, and immediately issued orders, “Nick! There’s a cheetah coming right towards you. Fangmeyer, break from the crowd and check the waterway for any floatables or water vehicles. Wolfard, Grizzoli, Delgato, move to the other alleyways in case he changes his escape route.”

Bogo’s voice spoke up for the first time, “This is ZPD Copter One ready to provide eyes in the sky, standing by.”

The Officers quickly responded while the fox in sheep’s clothing pretended to be standing around aloof as the robber quickened his pace towards him. The fox tightened his grip onto the money bag over his right shoulder.

Nick had already centered his balance when he heard the sound of a sign being dropped and he felt the bag getting yanked from his grip while the sheep mask blocked the immediate spray attack.

“What the hell?” came the gruff surprise when the robber found the guard holding his ground and not letting him rip the bag away.

“My bad! Did you want this?” came the quip when Nick released it at the right moment, causing the cheetah to stumble backwards while he knocked the spray bottle away.

Nick immediately tore the sheep mask off, pulled his tranquilizer gun, and aimed center mass. The shot rang true but it bounced off the cheetah’s chest to no effect, hitting some form of body armor underneath the red shirt. Momentarily caught off guard by the ineffective dart, the cheetah quickly recovered by grabbing his protest sign and swinging it into Nick and sent him flying back.

“Nick!” came Judy’s scream into his earpiece. “Officer Wilde got knocked down, suspect on the run to the waterway! All Officers. Go! Go! Go!”

The robber grabbed the bag and immediately went into full sprint towards the waterway. He was heading right towards Judy who was waiting on the railing above. She lept down hoping to land right on top of him but the cheetah noticed her and rolled forward, slipping right underneath her as she landed. Judy turned to take a shot but was greeted by some debris flung her way and had to sidestep losing the opportunity.

The bunny lunged into her own sprint as the cheetah was making his escape. She hoped Nick was okay. Bringing up the radio once again, “Officer Hopps in pursuit of suspect. He is running directly to the waterway.”

Officer Fangmeyer answered the call, “Fangmeyer here, I found the robber’s inner tube and deflated it. Waiting for suspect in waterway.”

The cheetah quickly arrived at his intended destination only to be greeted by a tigress standing next to his deflated escape device with a drawn tranq gun. He turned back to see a bunny running towards him and behind her several more mammals approaching.

“Dammit!” he exclaimed and began to run down parallel to the waterway. He was fumbling for his phone and dialing frantically.

Another mammal answered the line, “What’s going on Frank?”

“It’s the damn cops! They figured us out and they’re chasing me. Get up the waterway and pick me up, now!”

A string of curses followed and the mammal told him he would be right there. The cheetah continued to sprint full speed.

Judy was losing her ground but wasn’t giving up. She couldn’t match the raw speed of the mammal but she knew she could outlast his stamina. She brought up her radio, “ZPD Copter One, I have visual on suspect running along the waterway heading south.”

“Roger Hopps, we are overhead with eyes on the robber,” answered Bogo and turned the channel over to dispatch, “Dispatch, this is Chief Bogo, requesting all available units to Savanna Central, waterway south of Harbour Street, suspect is a cheetah in a red cap and shirt, dark jeans, and carrying stolen money.”

“Roger Chief, sending all available units to your location. Over.”

Higgins pointed to the waterway, “Chief there is a jet ski headed up the waterway towards our suspect.”

“I see it, Higgins,” the buffalo grabbed the com once again, “Dispatch, we have an additional suspect spotted on the waterway in a jet ski. Another cheetah. Contact the ZCG and block the waterway exit.”

“Roger Chief, contacting ZCG, Dispatch out.”

Down below, Judy spotted something in the distance of the water, it looked like another mammal on some sort of water vehicle was approaching at high speed from the opposite direction. She suddenly made out another cheetah on a jet ski who zipped past them and made a quick U-turn and drove up, slowing his speed down to line up with his partner in crime.

By this point the cheetah on foot was getting exhausted and quickly losing top speed. Judy saw the gap decreasing and pushed herself harder. She watched as he leaped down, sliding down the waterway and was preparing to leap onto the jet ski. The bunny leaped down as well, rolling onto the ground to maintain momentum, and jumped onto the cat’s back, grabbing onto his neck, as the cheetah leapt onto the back of the jet ski. The second cheetah gunned it and the trio was speeding down the waters.

“Stop! ZPD!” she ordered the perps.

The cheetah roared trying to swing his arms around to get Judy off of him, as she attempted to dodge his thrashing, while holding tight to anything she could. “Get this stupid rabbit off of me!”

The driver was about to turn around to assist his accomplice when a sudden series of honks mimicking a tune momentarily caught their attention above. There was Nick, still in his sheep costume, in the driver’s seat of Z-240 waving at the cheetahs and shouting, “Hey fellas! I’m missing a small gray bunny! Have you seen her?”

It was enough of an absurd distraction to cause the cheetah Judy was hanging onto to stop momentarily. She took advantage by climbing up onto his shoulder, grabbing the collar of his shirt and swung herself around to double kick the driver.

The impact knocked the other cheetah off, and with her continued momentum, she swung around fully, still gripping the collar of the robber, and pulled him backwards off the jet ski.

All three mammals fell into the waterway with a giant splash while the jet ski continued forward, veering off and crashed onto one of the concrete banks. Nick slammed the brakes, coming to a hard skidding stop, while immediately jumping out of the cruiser and slid down the wall with his tranq gun in paw.

The cheetah with the money surfaced first and tried to desperately swim away to the other side of the bank as the undertow carried him forward. 

The other cheetah splashed around desperately crying for aid, ”Help! I… can’t… swim!”

Judy was desperately trying to help the cheetah but his erratic thrashes were causing both of them to continuously submerge into the water. In sheer panic, he grabbed onto her like she was some kind of life preserver and was pushing her underwater.

Nick saw the struggling mammal and his partner being drowned. “JUDY!” he shouted and immediately ejected the dart from his gun, taking it into his paw, and dove into the water.

Churning through the dirty waters as fast as he could, Nick reached the drowning pair, and slammed the dart into the cheetah’s neck. The sedative began to work its magic almost immediately causing the larger feline to stop struggling. Judy was able to surface, coughing furiously, and grabbed onto Nick. The two kept their suspect’s head above water and with their combined strength swam over to the bank.

The fox and bunny pulled the unconscious cheetah up onto the side wall. He was breathing heavy, out cold from the effects of the tranq dart. 

The other cheetah climbed out of the water but doubled over from exhaustion. The helicopter landed with Snarlof and Higgins jumping out with guns drawn. The cheetah managed to lift his arms up to surrender. Bogo stayed in the chopper, updating the status to the other Officers.

Nick and Judy lay next to one another, heavily panting, staring at the sky. 

Nick was trying to catch his breath. “Carrots, you okay?” he finally managed.

“Yes, Slick, thanks to you,” she was still coughing lightly and smiled towards her partner.

“Anytime, crazy bunny.”

They heard the sound of approaching sirens. Several cruisers appeared and the sounds of doors opening, a few officers appeared overhead looking down to the duo.

“Glad, you guys could make it,” Nick peered up smiling and pointed to the cheetah next to him. “Got our Waterway Bandits right here!”

Nick then looked over to Judy and held out a fist, “How about a victory dap-dap?”

“Alright. One dap-dap,” she laughed and returned his fistbump enthusiastically.

“You and Hopps always have to steal the show, eh Wilde?” said Fangmeyer with hands on her hips. 

The other officers joined in the laughter as several of them slid down the wall to help out the fox and bunny.

The fox just closed his eyes and grinned wide, “You know you love us.”


	5. Dawning Realizations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A premonition of what's to come for our Officers and Nick takes Judy to meet Mrs. Wilde.

Chief Bogo sat in his office, double checking the reports from yesterday’s successful capture and apprehension of the two mammals responsible for several recent bank robberies. He had ten officer reports to go through. Naturally, he felt pensive reading Officer Wilde’s report. Even though his fox officer’s reports were usually well documented, Wilde had apparently taken every possible opportunity to use the phrase ‘Waterway Bandit’ wherever he could. It made Bogo’s eye twitch. 

He groaned and slammed the report down when he finished it, only to be greeted by a crude drawing of the bandit on a jet ski on the back of the last page. Grumbling louder, he began to read Officer Hopps’ report. At least the rabbit officer’s reports were more pleasant to check. He was halfway through her report when a knock came from his door. The buffalo wasn’t expecting any visitors.

Bogo removed his glasses. “Enter.”

A dark maned clydesdale horse entered his office with a chestnut coat and a white stripe running down his snout. He was wearing a dark navy suit with a MBI identification clipped near his chest. The horse strolled up to the front of the chief’s desk and introduced himself, “Good morning Chief Bogo, my name is Agent Edward J. Coltson, from the Mammal Bureau of Investigation.”

The cape buffalo stood and the two shook hooves, “Agent Coltson. Have a seat. How can I help you?”

“Thank you. I will get right to business, Chief. Have you ever heard of a mammal named Arthur Elliot Felisky?”

“No, sir, I have not,” came the quick reply.

“Mr. Felisky, who is a margay, is on the top wanted list at the MBI and ZIA. He is a very cunning and wealthy individual believed to be involved in a variety of activities such as insider trading, political sabotage, stock market manipulation, and investments in several illegal businesses.”

The Chief simply leaned forward and listened silently, motioning the agent to continue.

“We, in joint operations with the ZIA, have been tracking him and disrupted several of his operations for some time now,” the agent explained and slid a short bio with a photo to the ZPD chief. “We have slowly been cornering him into trouble with his financial investors. He is on the run and we have monitored him traveling to and from Zootopia. When the time comes, we wish to enlist a few of your Officers to help us in our undercover operation to catch this feline and force him to cooperate with the MBI by giving us information that would lead to the arrest of his superiors.”

“I am willing to cooperate, Agent Coltson. I will be able to spare a few of my officers to assist in your case,” Bogo replied as he peeked at the bio in front of him.

“Actually, Chief Bogo, I am looking for two specific officers.”

His nostrils flaring, Bogo gave the agent across his desk a hard stare. He could already guess which two cops the agent was desiring for this case, “And which officers did you have in mind, Agent Coltson?”

“Officers Judith Hopps and Nicholas Wilde, Sir,” came the quick responce.

“And why do you want them specifically?” Bogo leaned further forward, ready to change his mind and decline assistance even though he knew it may be futile in the end.

“We have done our homework, Sir. Officer Hopps has proven to be an exceptional officer and she matches a ‘special criteria’ that would greatly interest Mr. Felisky. He loves mammals who break society’s mold, especially smaller species similar to himself. The same would be said for Officer Wilde. Your fox also appears to possess unique skillsets from his, let’s say, colorful past...” Coltson shot Bogo a wicked grin.

“And if I refuse to lend them to your operation, Coltson?”

“I don’t think you wish to go that route, Chief Bogo. Do not worry, we still have time before we will require their aid,” came the veiled threat. The horse stood up with a look of contempt and placed a business card on Bogo’s desk. “My card. I will keep in touch, Chief. Have a nice day.”

The clydesdale let himself out. The buffalo angrily stared at the door, while picking up the card and crumpled it in his hooves, “Dammit…”

* * *

Nick was leaning against the side of their cruiser, reading the latest news on his phone, while Judy was grabbing some drinks during their short break from patrol. Their Friday shift was nearly over and Chief Bogo had let them know they could enjoy the next few days off due to their successful capture of the cheetah bank robbers. They would still be on emergency standby, however.

The fox was feeling really good about their recent case as he read a news piece about the robbery on the Zootopia Times. The article had pictures of the arrested cheetahs and a few pictures of the Officers involved in the case including a professional picture of himself and Judy and another shot of them posing together in a way only best friends could.

Curiously, he had scrolled through the online comments section below the article and found several negative posts such as a fox being a policeman, or how some mammals had issues with a predator and prey working so closely together, or his favorite, if there was something going on between the two smaller officers. 

Nick would have almost let it get to him if those bad comments weren’t drowned out by the sheer number of opposing positive comments, including several posts made by an antelope who admonished the negative posts and beamed how Zootopia could use more officers like Nick and Judy. He recognized the antelope poster’s profile image as the same one he and Judy had helped from being mugged after the Gazelle concert. Reading her posts brought a great sense of happiness to him.

Looking back at the photo of Judy and himself, it made his mind begin to wander. How he and Judy worked so well together no matter what obstacles they had to face. How they always had each other’s backs. That wonderful big smile on her small muzzle and that shine in her violet eyes when they fistbumped in triumph yesterday. Nick felt a little bit warm and shifted on his feet.

Feeling a nudge that snapped him out of his meandering thoughts, he looked down to see a blueberry icee waiting for him.

“Carrots, you know me best,” he excitedly snatched the drink and took a big slurp through the giant straw.

“Might want to slow it down there, Slick. I don’t want to hear you complaining about brain freezes again for the rest of the afternoon,” his partner laughed while taking a sip of her carrot juice.

He pawed her concern away and continued slurping. After a few moments, the fox turned to face the bunny, “So I was texting my Mom earlier. You free tomorrow? She’s been anxious to meet you and cook us dinner.”

“That sounds great, Nick! Though… I’m kinda a little nervous,” she admitted.

“What? Why? She already thinks the world of you,” he chuckled.

“And that makes me feel so much more at ease, you dumb fox,” she pointed out.

“Hey, I was probably more nervous meeting your parents at the concert, Fluff. And I quote a certain bunny: don’t worry,” he replied with air quotes and a mocking tone then began to poke Judy in the arm.

She playfully smacked his paw away, “What time are we going?”

“7PM. I’ll let her know,” Nick answered as he took out his phone.

“What should I wear?” she asked looking up at him.

Nick fell silent for a moment. He actually liked to dress up a bit when his Mom cooked such nice meals especially when he was younger and his Dad was still around. It would be a nice surprise to show up in something a little more stylish than his usual choice of attire.

Judy was snapping her fingers at him, “Nick? Hello?”

His eyes darted back down to her’s and he leaned back against the car door, “Well, sometimes I like to dress up when she cooks these nice dinners. But we don’t have to.”

The bunny looked excited, “You mean I can finally see you in something other than those awful pawaiian shirts?”

“Hey, those shirts are classy. You doubt my sense of fashion, Carrots?” he pretended to be flabbergasted.

“I doubt you have a sense of anything, Officer Wilde,” she smiled at him while lightly pinching his arm.

“Ouch. Vicious bunny,” he pretended to rub where she pinched.

“Dramatic fox.”

Nick finished his slurpee and went out of his way to try and get every last bit by loudly slurping right near his partner’s ears. He took satisfaction in watching them twitch in irritation. This earned him a prompt punch.

“Stop that!” she glared at him.

The fox smirked and threw his empty drink away, “So how about I drop by your place at six tomorrow and we’ll head over there together?”

“Sounds perfect,” she bounced on her toes and tossed her empty drink into the recycle bin too.

* * *

Judy didn’t want to admit how nervous she felt after all. She woke up early, ate breakfast, and began going through her small selection of outfits. While she had a few nice articles of clothing she’d worn on several prior blind dates set up by her parents, she found herself oddly unsatisfied with her available wardrobe. She kept wondering what exactly Nick was going to be wearing and she wanted to make a good impression for Mrs. Wilde.

She sighed in frustration. Looking at her clock, it was only 8:39AM. Grimacing in thought, she still had most of the day to go out and see if she could find a nicer outfit. The stores wouldn’t be opening till ten. Deciding to clear her mind, she changed into her workout clothes and went for a quick run. Afterwards, she would go and shop for something special to wear tonight.

Several hours later after combing through countless shops, she was back at her apartment and getting ready. The bunny was slowly inspecting herself in front of her full body mirror. She found and purchased a nice fitted long sleeve aquamarine buttoned top blouse and a simple elegant black skirt that ended just above her knees. Judy didn’t own any jewelry but she thought it wouldn’t be too necessary tonight. However, she still decided to add a very tiny touch of makeup to her eyes and some shiny lip gloss.

She glanced at her tiny radio clock. It was 5:51PM. Just in time. For fun, she took a selfie and sent it over to her family to see what they thought. The reply came back almost immediately on how much they loved it, how lovely she looked, and naturally followed by questions if she was going out on a date and who the lucky rabbit was.

As she was rolling her eyes, her right ear turned to the side as she heard some footsteps followed by a knock on her door. It had to be Nick and he was surprisingly a few minutes early. Walking over to open the door she decided to tease him, “Wow, Nick, you just couldn’t wait…”

Judy immediately paused in shock as she took in the sight in front of her. There was her partner dressed in a stylish slate gray vest suit with matching slacks. A very subtle lighter vertical stripe pattern decorated the ensemble. He wore a light blue-gray long sleeve collared shirt underneath with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, and he was sporting that new violet tie. His attire superbly contrasted with his red fur. 

Nick also had some quip ready to go with a smug grin, leaning on an elbow, as the door was opening but he too found himself at a sudden loss of words once Judy came into view. Both mammals ended up staring at one another wide eyed for a solid minute before either of them spoke up.

The fox cleared his throat, “Excuse me Miss, but I must have knocked on the wrong door. I was looking for an Officer Judy Hopps. Do you know her?” he said with a flirty smile.

The bunny wasn’t going to let him have all the fun. There was no way she was going to chance at feeding his ego of how handsome he looked, “Oh… I’m sorry, good sir, I don’t. I was expecting a scruffy dumb fox to show any minute now. You didn’t happen to see one on your way up, did you?”

They both shared a laugh. Judy noticed Nick had a few items in his paws, “Whatcha got there, Slick?”

He held up some yellow daisies and a bottle of wine, “Her favorite flowers and her favorite red blend. Ready to go, Carrots?”

“Sure am. Let me grab my phone.”

She got her things and just as she reached the door to close it, Bucky and Pronk had to chime in.

“Hey Bunny, enjoy your date!”

“That sounds like the guy who was over here last week. She must really like him.”

“Well, he did already sleep over once. Hey buddy, show her a good time tonight.”

“Don’t tell them what to do!”

“Oh shut up!”

“You shut up!”

Judy simply slammed the door shut in embarrassment, while Nick had to put a paw up to keep from snickering too loudly. She shot him a stern glare.

Nick composed himself and faced the neighbor’s door, “Don’t worry fellas, Officer Hopps will have a ‘Wilde’ time tonight!” he teased which earned him a punch to the gut.

Despite that, Nick kept his smirk and switched the bottle of wine to his other paw, leaned down, and playfully stuck his left elbow out. “Shall we?”

His partner softened her glare and smiled back, hooking her arm in his, and they headed out to take the subway to Savanna Central.

* * *

The fox and bunny pair now stood in front of the door to Nick’s childhood home. Nick had glanced down to see Judy looking a bit apprehensive, the same way she had looked at the missing mammal press conference. He had to internally chuckle at the idea of his fierce bunny partner who could stare down an angry rhino, chase down a cheetah, or make a train car explode, being nervous at meeting an elderly vixen. Her foot began to thump.

He put his paw on her shoulder and was rewarded with the intended effect of her relaxing a little bit. “Don’t worry, Carrots,” he reassured with a wink and hit the doorbell.

Judy picked up on the soft steps approaching the door and watched it open, revealing the vixen. She was awed for a moment when she looked at Mrs. Wilde. She had a lighter shade of red fur than Nick with small patches of gray on her snout. Her soft and kind green eyes sparkled full of life and she had a warm and inviting smile. Judy thought she was beautiful. The elder vixen was wearing her favorite purple blouse and maroon skirt. It was the same outfit she wore at Nick’s graduation.

“You made it! And look at you two!” she exclaimed, first hugging Nick and then turning to Judy.

Mrs. Wilde leaned down, “And you must be Judy! Oh, it’s so wonderful to finally meet you, dear.” She gave the bunny a warm embrace.

The bunny returned the hug, “I’m really happy to meet you too, Mrs. Wilde. I’m sorry I missed you at the graduation.”

“Oh, it’s okay, Judy. Please come in,” she stepped back and waved them inside.

Nick lifted up his gifts as he entered the home.

“Nicholas, you don’t need to keep spoiling me with such things, but thank you sweetheart,” she kissed his cheek and took the flowers and wine. “Dinner will be ready in just a few minutes. Please sit while I get some tea ready.“

His mother disappeared into the kitchen, while Nick lead Judy over to the living room and they sat down on the couch. Judy looked around at the older home. It was quaint but clean, not very large yet felt spacious. The wallpaper was a light shade of green with a darker floral pattern. Lots of older family photos adorned the walls. She looked over to her partner who was already leaning back against the couch with both arms spread across the top cushion with a leg crossed.

Then Mrs. Wilde returned with two cups of tea, “One blueberry flavored herbal tea and one green tea with lemon.”

“Oh thank you! Do you need any help ma’am?” Judy asked.

“No, dear. But please you can call me Marian if you’d like, I don’t feel like a ma’am just yet,” she joked.

“Don’t bother, Carrots, she’ll never let you help,” Nick smirked.

“Nicholas Piberius Wilde! How can you address her like that? I know I thought you better manners!” his mother suddenly glared at him and flicked one of his ears.

“Ow!”

Judy suddenly straightened up on the edge of her seat with paws up, “No, no, no, it’s okay Mrs. Wilde! I’m used to it. We sort of have these nicknames we call each other. I did hate it at first but now I kinda find it endearing. Though I probably shouldn’t have admitted that in front of Nick,” she turned to her partner and smiled.

Mrs. Wilde simply shook her head and laughed. “You kits these days,” and went back to finish her final preparations. 

Nick was still nursing his aching ear when he noticed Judy leaning over and shooting him a smug grin with lidded eyes while he raised an eyebrow at her in question.

“So… Piberius, is it?” she said it mockingly slow, making sure to accentuate every syllable. 

All Nick could do was glare, sigh, and then pawface himself while his partner giggled. He should have known that Judy would find out his middle name from his mother.

“Okay you two! Dinner is served!” came the call from the other room. The fox and bunny took their drinks and made their way to the dining area.

* * *

Dinner was a three course meal. For an appetizer, Mrs. Wilde served some sweetened fruit mix for herself and Nick and a hot carrot and tomato soup with peas mixed with rosemary and thyme for Judy. This was followed by some fresh grilled salmon for the foxes while the bunny was given a large leafy romaine salad mixed with cucumber, celery leaves, sage, curly kale, spinach, topped with some strawberries and papaya for sweetening. Dessert was a choice of a blueberry cheesecake with banana crust or carrot cake.

All three mammals ate hungrily with minimal chit chat and soon they were back in the living room with their desserts and more tea. Judy and Nick were sitting very close on the couch while Mrs. Wilde was on her loveseat.

“Mrs. Wilde, that was so good. How did you know that was one of my favorite soup and salads?” Judy had to ask.

The elder fox smiled and pointed with her snout towards Nick, “I had to hustle it out of this one. He told me to just cut up a bunch of carrots at first.”

“I didn’t think you paid close attention to what I liked, Nick?” she smiled at her partner.

Naturally he had to ruin the moment, “What? How can I not? You eat like a horse, not an itty bitty rabbit.” This earned an elbow to the gut from the bunny and a nasty glare from his mother.

“Ow. I kid. I kid.”

“So Judy, Nicholas told me once how you two met and how you solved that Missing Mammals and Nighthowler case together. I have a hard time believing half the things he tells me. Could you humor this old vixen and tell me your side of the story? I would love to hear it. And tell me what made you want to be become a police officer too,” Mrs Wilde had turned to Judy and asked her with a sweet tone in her voice.

“Of course!” she replied with a jovial smile. 

The bunny started by sharing how much she wanted to be a police officer since she was nine to make the world a better place, leaving out the part where a fox bullied her, and how it took six years of applying to the Academy after high school before she was accepted through the Mammal Inclusion Initiative and then graduated as Valedictorian. She recounted how she was given parking duty on her first day and then her chance meeting with Nick.

Some of this information was new to Nick. He listened intently, watching Judy as she told her side of the events. He didn’t notice when he flattened his ears and was regretting how he had treated her that first day they met, realizing he never did sincerely apologize for all those vicious things he said to her when he really thought she was just another dumb bunny.

Judy continued with the ultimatum that Bogo had given her on her second day, which made Nick very irritated for a moment that he caught himself making fists with his paws before forcing himself to relax again. He had zoned out for a little bit but then immediately perked up when she was beginning to share what happened in the Rainforest District. Just like Nick, she was downplaying the danger as to not upset Mrs. Wilde.

Just as Judy was going to share what Nick revealed to her on the sky tram, she was suddenly interrupted by him pretending to clear his throat and loosen the knot on his tie. The bunny glanced his way and she saw him trying to make real subtle eye contact with her and inconspicuously glancing to his Mom and back while barely running a finger across his neck and shaking his head in a barely discernable ‘no’ fashion, when she was about to mention the Ranger Scout incident. 

She almost didn’t understand but then realized what he was trying to nonverbally communicate with her. Her large violet eyes widened and she coughed and made up something vague before continuing the story. Nick glanced back to his mother. It was hard to tell with her if she had picked up on what just happened.

The press conference part was very tough for her to retell. Her voice had gotten very quiet and her ears drooped, but Nick put an arm around her and smiled and it made her feel better.

Soon she finished recapping and looked to Mrs. Wilde for her reaction, who then turned to her son and smirked, “So you did tell me the truth, Nicholas.”

“Really? You still didn’t believe me? I swear Mom…,” came the mock exasperation. 

She rolled her eyes at her son and shoo’ed at him with her paw and turned back to Judy, “Well, they do say the more unique a chance encounter is, the stronger that friendship or bond will be. You two really have something special.”

The bunny was beaming and looked to her partner who simply raised his eyebrows at her. Mrs. Wilde chuckled.

“Judy, would you like to hear how Nick’s father and I met?”

“Oh no. Here it comes…,” Nick said while craning his neck towards the ceiling.

Judy lightly smacked his shoulder, “I’d love to hear it!”

Mrs. Wilde put her tea down and smiled before speaking, “Back when I was in my twenties, I used to work for a bookstore. I was riding my bicycle home after a morning shift and I saw this very well dressed fox riding his bike in the opposite direction. I didn’t take too much notice and before I knew it, I found myself dazed on the pavement.” 

She paused for moment because she had to laugh. “You see Judy, Nick’s father, John, saw me and I apparently enchanted him so much that he just had to find a way to talk to me. But he was so tongue tied in that moment and couldn’t think of anything to say as we passed one another… so he did the next thing that crossed his mind… he crashed his bicycle into mine and tried to make it look like an accident.”

The bunny’s smile suddenly turned into a look of horror. She gasped and put her paw to her mouth. She looked to Nick who sat there with his usual smirk and made eye contact with her while making a gesture with his paw, “Real smooth, huh?”

She looked back to the elder vixen, “Were you hurt?”

“Oh, I was fine dear. Just a few bruises. Of course I cursed like a sailor at that dumb fox for ruining my favorite outfit and denting my bicycle. He apologized so profusely, helped me up, and insisted to make it up to me with coffee and that he could fix my outfit. I almost refused his offer, I was so furious. But I am so glad I didn’t. That crazy, kind, gentle fox became the love of my life and I wouldn’t have my Nicholas here,” she looked with wet eyes to her son.

Nick held his mother’s gaze for a moment before looking away in embarrassment. Judy had put her paw on his knee for a moment and squeezed which made him look back to the bunny next to him. His heart had begun to beat a little faster and the room felt a little hot.

“That was still a lovely story, Mrs. Wilde.”

The vixen smiled looking at the two mammals in front of her and she stood, “Nicholas, will you help me put some things away?”

“Sit, Mom. Let me go clean up and do the dishes. You two stay here,” he ordered and began gathering some of the empty plates and headed to the kitchen. 

“Then let me show you where some of the dishware goes. I’ll be right back Judy,” Mrs. Wilde said as she followed her son.

The bunny hopped off the couch and stretched. She looked around the room again. Two particular picture frames caught her attention. She walked up to the table near the large circular wall mirror where the daisies were and saw a picture of Nick when he was younger. It was a picture of him in his Ranger Scout uniform trying to look very serious and giving a crisp salute. Judy thought he looked so cute. She looked over to the kitchen doorway where she could vaguely see Nick loudly scrubbing away at a huge pile of dishes and cookware.

She picked up the other picture. It was a portrait of the Wilde Family. Mrs. Wilde was on the left looking so happy with an even younger Nick in the middle, wearing a green collared shirt and small tie, and to the right was John Wilde. He looked like he was a little shorter and slightly stockier than adult Nick. His fur and eyebrows were darker and he had a very bushy tail. He had a such a warm smile and inviting blue eyes behind those small glasses on his snout. He was immaculately dressed in a dark gray suit with a patterned blue collared shirt paired with a blue tie with purple stripes.

Judy blinked. She looked closer at the tie and her nose twitched. A realization dawned and her mouth pursed. This tie was the exact same one Nick had always worn before the incident with the mugger. There was no mistaking it. It made so much sense now why he had been so angry afterwards. That stupid wolf had destroyed the only thing he had left from his father. 

She had to lower the picture for a moment as she stared at the wall, suddenly finding herself becoming incredibly infuriated at that mugger. Then another realization hit. This green floral wallpaper in front of her. Another blink. The color and pattern… exactly the same as the green pawaiian shirt he preferred to wear with his father’s tie. 

Glancing back at the photo of Nick in his scout uniform, she noticed the bright red neckerchief also looked oddly familiar. Then she remembered how he always kept a red handkerchief of similar size and color in his pocket. The same one he always used for wrapping blueberries or when he used it to bandage her injured leg in the Natural History Museum.

She clutched the frame tightly to her chest as her mind began to put all the pieces together: the tie, the shirt, the neckerchief, and… her carrot pen too. The pen he had no reason to keep for three months after she broke his heart at the press conference, yet he had held onto it. Nick had held onto every precious and sentimental keepsake that was truly important to him.

“Oh sweet cheese and crackers…,” she whispered to herself.

A soft paw gently fell onto her right shoulder, causing Judy to start. 

“Judy, are you okay?” came the quiet concerned voice of Mrs. Wilde.

“I’m… sorry. I was just looking at this picture...” was her meek reply.

“It’s okay dear,” the loving voice responded.

“May I ask what happened?” Judy looked up to meet Mrs. Wilde’s gaze.

The vixen slowly moved behind her and placed both paws on her shoulders. They were so warm and comforting.

Mrs. Wilde closed her eyes and took a deep breath, “It happened twenty-six years ago. I believe Nicholas was seven at the time. John had been making some personal house calls to a few of his clients. Business had been slow and he was very stressed even though he never showed it around us. But I knew. He called me that day saying he wasn’t feeling great and he would be on his way home.”

Judy could feel the paws tighten slightly before Mrs. Wilde continued, “So I waited and he hadn’t come home for over an hour. I began to worry. Then the phone rang and I thought it would be him. Instead it was a doctor from the Savanna Central Main Hospital calling to regrettably inform me that he had suffered a massive heart attack and died of sudden cardiac arrest before the medical bus could even reach the ER. I cried so hard. I tried to not tell Nicholas right away but he heard me and came running over and…”

Now Mrs. Wilde was lightly sobbing, her voice cracked at the end, and she couldn’t finish speaking. Judy immediately turned around and wrapped her paws around Mrs. Wilde, her own eyes now tearing up as well.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Wilde, I didn’t mean to… if there is anything I could do…”

“Shh. It’s okay Judy,” the vixen whispered and kneeled down in front of the gray bunny and looked into her large violet eyes, “Don’t ever apologize for having such a big heart. If it wasn’t for that…” Mrs. Wilde put her paw over Judy’s chest, “I wouldn’t have my Nicholas back. So I will thank the heavens every day that my son met you and you brought him home to me.”

There was no stopping the flood of tears now as both women rocked back and forth together quietly.

“I don’t think it was just me, Mrs. Wilde,” Judy was finally able to find her voice again between sobs, her face buried in the vixen’s blouse, “Nick never gave up hope. He just kept it inside himself. I realized that tonight.”

“And you brought it out,” she quietly whispered into the bunny’s ear, gave her one more squeeze, and a brief peck to her cheek.

Meanwhile, Nick had taken a pause from his dishwashing and stepped through the door with a dish towel in paw. His eyes immediately fell onto Judy and his Mom who both looked like they were in a teary embrace and Judy had a picture frame in one paw. He had no idea what was going on and decided to not say anything to disrupt this moment and quietly escaped back to his washing. If one of them was going to let him know what happened later, he would patiently wait.

Soon after the moment passed, both Judy and Mrs. Wilde stepped back and shared a warm smile before getting up to straighten themselves. Judy returned the picture frame to the table.

Mrs. Wilde smiled and gestured towards the kitchen, “Come. Let’s go check on Nick and make sure he hasn’t broken half of my good china.”

Judy nodded with a giggle and followed the vixen to the next room.

* * *

They had stayed much later than originally planned but Mrs. Wilde was happy to enjoy their company. It was after 11PM when they finally said their goodbyes and promised to visit again soon. The pair had taken the subway back to Judy’s apartment and Nick walked the bunny to her door.

She was getting her keys out when she looked up at Nick who was simply looking to the door with a smile on his face and both paws in his pants pockets.

“I had a great time tonight, Nick. Your Mom is so wonderful. I’m really happy you reconnected with her again,” she spoke quietly.

“Me too. And thanks, Carrots,” he whispered back. 

The fox and bunny stood there for a few moments before Judy spoke up again, “Will I see you tomorrow?”

She noticed a brief sad expression hit his snout and his ears had momentarily fell downwards before his usual smirk came back, “I was planning to finish setting up my new apartment tomorrow so I can invite you to Casa de Wilde,” he playfully exclaimed with arms out.

“I can’t wait to see it!” Judy said as she hopped over and pulled him down into a long fierce hug.

Nick found himself feeling so calm and content in her embrace. He almost instinctively craned his neck to nuzzle Judy’s cheek but caught himself, quickly stopping the action before she could notice anything.

Once they separated, Judy opened the door, smiled and waved a paw at Nick, mouthing ‘goodnight’ and closed it quietly.

The fox lingered there for several moments staring at her door. His right paw had returned to his pocket but his left paw moved over his beating heart.

“What the hell, Wilde?…,” he muttered to himself under his breath.

He shook his face to snap himself out of it and sauntered down the hallway, taking one last glance in her apartment’s direction before heading down the stairs.

* * *

Nick didn’t find himself back at his new home. Instead, on a whim, he texted Finnick to see if his buddy was awake. And sure enough he was. The foxes were now sharing drinks at their favorite bar, ‘On the Leash’. A slow somber jazz song played in the background while the other patrons were enjoying their evening. A small poker game was being played in the far corner.

“Haven’t been back here since the Academy,” Nick said aloud after placing his empty mug back onto the bar countertop and staring at it.

Finnick was already two beers ahead of Nick. It was amazing how much that little fox could hold his liquor despite his size. He often claimed he drank a rhino under the table. “What’s with the getup? Didn’t know we on a date or something.”

“I was out with Judy,” came the nonchalant reply. Nick was leaning on one paw and rapping the counter with the other.

“I knew it,” came the gravelly response.

“It’s not like that Finn… she’s my best friend.”

The fennec fox gave him a nasty glare when he noticed the hesitation, “Please, Wilde, the last time I saw you dressed like this was when you were still with…”

The paw Nick was leaning on came slamming onto the counter and Nick straightened up, jabbing an angry finger towards his friend, “Don’t even say her name, Finn!” There was a pause. “We were visiting my mother. She wanted to meet Judy, okay?”

Finnick simply kept a nonplussed look on his face and ignored the angry outburst, “Whatever Wilde. You keep telling yourself that and keep being a chump.”

“Well, thank you for the enlightenment there, buddy,” he drawled back.

“How’s your mother?”

“She’s doing really well. Did I tell you she never spent any of the money I sent her?”

“I ain’t surprised,” he said while ordering another beer by shaking the mug at the bartender.

Nick blankly stared at his friend and sighed. Was he really the only one who didn’t catch onto these things? Perhaps he wasn’t as sly as he often gave himself credit for. He turned back to the bar and also tapped his empty mug to order another drink.

The two sat in silence for a few moments before Finnick spoke up again, “I swear, Nick, you are the smartest hustler I ever worked with but you’re an idiot when it comes to everything else.”

The larger red fox just furrowed his brows. His mind was thinking it was a mistake to come here and was tempted to just leave. But there was truth in his friend’s wisdom. When his new beer came, he grabbed it and just chugged it down. He spun around in his chair and looked around the bar. He saw the poker game going on in the corner.

“Hey Finn?” he asked changing the subject.

“What?”

“Want to show some mammals how we play cards? I’m feeling a little rusty,” he smirked to his fox friend.

“I’m down. Tired of listening to your depressing crap anyway,” he replied with a toothy grin.

Nick left some cash on the counter and hopped off his barstool, “Great. Our drinks are going to be on them tonight. Ready to hustle?” That old fox confidence was surfacing back as he rubbed his paws together.

“I’ll follow your lead.”

The pair walked up to some recently vacated seats around the small table and Nick leaned an elbow on a chair, “Hey fellas. Mind if my pal and I here join in? 

The mammals at the table nodded their approval.

“Excellent!” he exclaimed in a friendly tone and took his seat. “What’s the buy-in?”

The late night continued as the dealer dealt their cards and a waitress came by to ask them if they wanted more drinks.


	6. Thin Ice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick is getting settled into his new home, Judy goes on a date, a Wilde car chase, and Nick gets into trouble...twice! This one became much longer than anticipated so that just means the next chapter gets to be extra WildeHopps fluffy as a result.

After the two foxes hustled all the money from those poor mammals at the bar last night, Finnick took Nick back to the Docks where the two spent the night. In the morning, the two of them loaded up the fennec fox’s van with a whopping four boxes of Nick’s worldly possessions. Nick imagined it would be the last time he would ever set foot in that old run down warehouse. He looked around one last time at the old dusty and time worn indoor amusement rides, broken lights, food stations, and game machines. Walking past the old fallen building signage, he ran his paw across the aging title that read Wild Times. With a lazy goodbye salute, he turned to hop into Finnick’s van and they hit the road.

Now back at his new apartment, Nick stood on his patio getting a whiff of fresh air and admiring his Downtown view before heading back inside with a large cup of Snarlbucks coffee in paw. A few deliveries begun to arrive and Nick directed where he wanted his new furniture to go while leaving generous tips with the delivery mammals. The fennec fox sat on the new large and very comfortable three cushion navy sofa and looking around the living space. It looked like he could completely disappear in between the cushions and pillows.

“Damn, Nick, you moving on up. Surprised the landlord even let you in the building,” he said while leaning back with his arms crossed.

“Funny you should mention that, Finn.” Nick replied while bringing over a drink for his friend. “Turned out a cousin of his was one of the fourteen missing mammals from the case I helped Carrots solve. He saw me on TV and was very eager to repay me for helping to find his cousin. Didn’t even ask where I got my large cash down payment from either.”

“Don’t ask, don’t tell, huh?” Finnick said while grabbing his soda.

“Oh, I’m sure he doesn’t mind having a ‘celebrity cop’ as a tenant. Looks good for business,” Nick smirked while jumping onto the sofa to join his buddy. 

“Who’da thought the boy scout thing would pay off.”

The two foxes sat silently drinking their refreshments for a few minutes before Nick spoke up again. “Say Finn… I do have two rooms. You’re welcome to stay here if you want.”

Finnick sat quietly and pondered the offer before replying with a sarcastic grin, “Nah. I like my van. Besides, I don’t like you ‘that’ much. I don’t want to go to jail for beating up a cop in his own home.”

Nick chuckled, “Hah. Oh… and before I forget...” The red fox reached into his pocket and pulled out a large wad of cash. “Here you go big guy. Your share from the game last night. Way to work that table.”

Taking the cash, Finnick studied it for a moment, “Ain’t that all of it?”

“That’s right. It’s all yours.” Nick looked down at his friend with a smile.

The smaller fox eyed him for a moment, a barely visible smile of his own forming while he pocketed the money, “Yeah. You getting sappy. Save that for the bunny cop, man.”

“Gee. Thanks buddy,” Nick sarcastically shot back before chuckling.

Another doorbell ring caught their attention and both foxes turned to look at the door. Nick hopped off the couch and sauntered towards it.

“How much crap did you buy, Wilde?”

“Just getting started Finn.” Nick replied while rubbing his paws together and opened the door.

After several more deliveries were made, the two foxes went to grab a quick bite to eat and then Finnick bid farewell to do his hustle for the day. A nice hot Sunday afternoon was always great for the pawpsicle business. 

Alone in his new office room, Nick finished putting together his new work desk. He had put off fixing his father’s tie and his green pawaiian shirt for awhile and now that he found the correct threads and materials, this was as good as any day to begin. Reaching down into the large box in the corner, he began to organize all of his tools onto the desk: his father’s old sewing machine, a sewing box filled with several needles, threads, and thimbles, a pin cushion, a pair of scissors, a couple of shears, sewing and hem gauges, a tailor’s ham, and a seam ripper. It was refreshing for him to finally have a proper place for these heirlooms.

He was going to start with the tie and placed the two torn halves onto the cutting board, grabbed the necessary tools, and began his repair. Nick was making good progress. There was a few interruptions here and there while more new home furnishings arrived, including his new fridge. Once those were squared away he was back in the room, fully concentrating on the task at hand, when his phone beeped a few times.

Pausing for a moment, he reached over and looked at his notifications. Judy had just played a word and left him a few new text messages. The fox checked the game first and raised an eyebrow. The bunny was making good on her challenge and keeping the score very close from the last several rounds. Nick had to grin that, of course, it would be Judy who could manage to be the first mammal in a long time to possibly defeat him. Studying the word board for a few minutes, while rubbing his chin, he saw a good word opportunity, tapped his choice and fired it off.

Switching over to the texts, Nick began to read the new messages.

[Judy:] Hi Nick! I hope you aren’t still passed out, sleepy fox! I wanted to say that I had such a wonderful time with you and your Mom again. Tell her hi for me if you talk to her soon. 

[Judy:] I am sure you will be working on your new apartment today. I can’t wait to come over and see it soon!

[Judy:] My parents are trying to set me up with this one rabbit again, ugh. I am going to humor them and go meet him for some drinks today. Have a great day and I will see you at work tomorrow morning! Bye!

The fourth and final message was a heart followed by a carrot emoji. Nick was smiling till he read that third message and his shoulders slumped and he let out a sigh. He shouldn’t let this get to him. Lightly tossing the phone to the side, he would reply a little bit later and went back to his task at hand. The fox needed this distraction now.

* * *

Judy was making her way to Hill Street located in the north part of Downtown close to the Rainforest District border. Since it was a casual meeting, she was wearing her favorite pink plaid shirt and jeans. The rabbit she was meeting, Ajay Cottonworth, had suggested an organic smoothie bar in the area called ‘The Secret Garden Cafe’. He was also from Bunnyburrow and had moved to Zootopia three weeks ago. His family owned a small neighboring farm near the Hopps Family Farm and his parents were friends with Judy’s parents.

Taking in the sights of the city, she felt her phone vibrate. Pausing at a street corner, she took it out and saw Nick had played another word since it was his turn again. 

“Ugh. Not making it easy for me are you, Slick Nick?” she whispered to herself with a smile. 

His word play gave him a nice lead again, however, Judy was determined to win. She decided to wait till later in the evening to play her round. She noticed there weren’t any replies to her texts which made her ears involuntarily droop. Nick must be busy after all setting up his new place. The bunny put the phone away and continued on her way once the crosswalk turned green again.

She arrived at the smoothie bar and scanned the crowd looking for Ajay. The tall buck was already sitting at one of the high top tables, when he noticed Judy near the entrance, and waved to get her attention. Judy hopped over and climbed onto the opposite seat and used the lever to adjust the seating height for her own size.

Ajay was a brown rabbit, with really long ears, blue eyes, and was a bit heavier set. He wore a simple red collared shirt with a solid dark tie and shorts. 

Judy clasped her hands together and greeted him with a perky tone, “Hi Ajay! It’s nice to meet you.”

“Hi Judy,” came the shy meek reply while avoiding direct eye contact.

Blinking a few times but keeping a warm smile, Judy figured he might actually be a bit introverted so she tried to break the ice some more.

“So, Ajay, do you come here often? I’ve never been to this cafe before.”

“Yeah… it’s kinda close to my apartment. And it’s cheap.”

She slightly raised an eyebrow and continued in a friendly tone, “Well, it’s good to be smart with your money. Living in Zootopia can be really expensive!”

He didn’t say anything and an awkward silence settled in for a few moments. Judy was about to speak up again when Ajay piped up first while playing with his thumbs.

“I just have ten dollars to spend on this date,” he declared in a fairly uninterested tone.

Judy did her best to keep her expression neutral. She was very far from being stuck up or high maintenance but she didn’t know what to think about this bunny anymore. Not wanting to be mean, she decided to stick it out and see how this little outing would play out.

“That’s… great! Is there anything you’d like to do?” she asked.

“I’ll buy you a smoothie and we can go to this two dollar theatre down the block and see whatever is there,” he suggested.

Like a trooper, Judy simply nodded, “Okay. Let’s go.”

She tried suggesting they could split the smoothie but Ajay refused. After getting her smoothie, the two bunnies walked towards the theatre. Judy noticed a Snarlbucks coffee shop and an appliance store along the way and it made her think of Nick. A real smile formed on her muzzle and she made a mental note to stop by the two stores on the way home.

* * *

The uneventful Monday shift came and went. Judy had already gone home while Nick was still hanging around the station. Clawhauser was still on shift and having a donut at his reception desk.

“Hey Claws, how is my favorite dispatch?” Nick asked as he walked up to the desk. 

“Hey Nick! Aw, that’s so nice of you to say. I’m doing great! Not hanging out with Judy tonight?” he asked while putting his chin on both paws.

“She told me she had a few errands to run tonight. I’ll see her soon when I finish with my new place. It’s almost all done and she is going to be my first housewarming guest,” he informed the cheetah.

“Oh, that is so cute!” Clawhauser gasped before correcting himself. “Don’t tell her I said that though! So tell me Nick… with all the time you two spend together and now you’re inviting her to your place… are you two… mmm?” His words trailed off suggestively while he smiled with lidded eyes towards his fox co-worker.

Eyes widening at the suggestion, Nick put both paws up, “No, no, no, Claws, she’s just my best friend.”

Clawhauser’s face instantly frowned but he had detected a slight hesitation in Nick’s response. His smile returned as he remembered something, “Oh. Oh. If you aren’t doing anything tonight, a bunch of us were thinking about hanging out. We haven’t decided what to do yet but you’re more than welcome to join us!” 

The fox pondered the invitation for a moment. His mind wandered back to the poker game two nights ago and it scratched an itch to play more.

“Actually, Claws… you guys ever play cards?” he asked with a genuine smile while leaning on the desk.

“Oh! We used to play all the time, after hours, in the bullpen, but the Chief didn’t like that so we had to stop.”

Nick looked around and up to the fourth floor, grinning ear to ear, “Well, what the Chief doesn’t know won’t hurt right? I say we bring back that tradition. C’mon, what do you say, Claws?”

“I don’t know, Nick…” the cheetah tried to look away.

“How bout we ask the others and see what they say? Pretty please with donuts on top?” Nick made a mock pleading expression while cupping his paws by his face.

“Oh, alright, how can I say no to that face?” Clawhauser clasped his paws together. 

* * *

With very little effort needed to convince them, several officers, all dressed in their casual ZPD shirts and leggings, were gathered around one of the corners of the bullpen. They made a makeshift table and pulled up chairs. The motley crew consisted of Fangmeyer, Clawhauser, Grizzoli, Wolfard, McHorn, Delgato, Snarlof, and finally Nick. Delgato went and bought some beers and everyone took a bottle except for Clawhauser.

The fox had volunteered to deal first. He was dexterously shuffling the cards and placed the deck to be cut by Fangmeyer who was sitting to his right.

“Ladies first,” he said with a charming smirk.

Fangmeyer smiled and cut the deck. She never knew any foxes before Nick but his dedication, charisma, and snark was growing on her and the rest of the bullpen of Precinct One. They all were beginning to admire the levity he brought to any situation. Nick finished the cut by taking the bottom portion and placed it on top, artfully squaring the deck, and began to deal the cards. 

As the game began, Nick employed his usual strategy when playing poker with unfamiliar opponents. He would purposely lose for a while to size them up and try to gather anything he could on their general strategy and tells. This often added the benefit of his opposition underestimating him as well. After almost an hour it was time to get his game on.

Delgato became the first victim as he took lead and played what he thought was a winning bluff with a low three of a kind after the others had folded mid-play except for Nick and Wolfard. Wolfard only had a pair of jacks in his hand and tossed his cards down.

“You know Wilde, I was worried that you might be quite the card shark. Sorry if that comes across as a fox bias,” the lion said.

Nick took no offense keeping his usual lidded eyes and a smug grin while resting an elbow on the table, “No harm, no foul, Del.” 

Just as Delgato looked ready to grab his winnings, Nick put down his cards displaying a full house.

The lion paused as his eyes went wide, “Damn… well played. Looks like you broke your losing streak there.”

“I do hang around a lucky rabbit most days. Some of it has to wear off on me eventually,” he quipped as he gathered the cash.

The rest of the table chuckled. Little did they know what they were in for. As the night proceeded, more jokes and stories were shared and everyone was having a good time. Nick was now playing in full force and winning back all of the money. Luckily, for them they had decided on low stakes, but that didn’t stop the fox from cleaning house with several hundred dollars now in his pot.

“I hate to say it guys, but I think we were just hustled,” Grizzoli laughed and slapped Nick across the back. “Good show Wilde.”

“Yeah, I think I’m officially terrified of playing against you again, Nick,” said Fangmeyer as she took a swig of her beer and winked at him.

“Judy is right when she calls him a clever fox,” Clawhauser complimented.

“When’s that? I only ever hear ‘dumb fox’ all the time. And I sit next to them every morning,” McHorn deadpanned.

Despite losing all their money, the officers were in good spirits and the table shared a laugh together at the ribbing. Nick was shuffling the cards again with a big silly grin on his face. He had always wanted to become part of a pack since before the Junior Ranger Scout incident and now he may have finally found it in the ZPD. He was thinking of giving everyone their money back once they finished. Just as Nick was about to say something, a loud angry shout echoed throughout the room.

“WHAT. IS. GOING. ON. HERE!?”

The officers started and turned their heads in terror towards the source of those words. There stood Chief Bogo, in his off duty ZPD clothes, glaring at the table with his hooves balled into fists.

“I thought I had made it perfectly clear that there will be no drinking and gambling at anytime in this precinct!”

Clawhauser tried to speak up, “Chief, we just wanted to…”

“Shut it!” came the immediate bellow.

“Sir, this was all my doing. Punish me if you have to,” Nick said loudly as he lept from his chair and stood in front of Bogo at attention with paws behind his back meeting his chief’s furious gaze.

The rest of the officers stared silently at their fox co-worker for a moment. Suddenly they began to protest but Nick silenced them with a raised paw before returning his attention to Chief Bogo.

“Is that so?” the Chief snorted in his direction and then walked past him to gather the pot sitting on the table and then returned to face Nick with cash in hoof. “Then the ‘Save The Kits Foundation’ will be thanking you for your generous donation, Officer Wilde.”

The fox stood his ground while maintaining direct eye contact with the cape buffalo glaring just inches from his snout, “Yes, Sir.”

Bogo raised his head to look at all of the officers in the room before continuing, “I expect you all to go home immediately and sleep this off.” Then he turned to Nick. “Especially you Wilde. You better be here bright and early for roll call tomorrow. NOW CLEAN THIS UP AND GET OUT OF HERE!”

The group immediately jumped into action cleaning up the bullpen and exited the station.

* * *

Judy entered the bullpen the following morning and saw Nick already sitting in their shared seat. She jumped up and greeted him with a cheerful smile, “Morning Slick!”

“Hey Carrots,” came the quiet reply as Nick simply stared ahead at the front wall, back straight, both paws curling and uncurling on the counter.

His partner blinked and raised an eyebrow. This behavior was really unusual. She also noticed he had no coffee either. Glancing around the room, Judy noticed several other officers shared that same nervous stare including Fangmeyer and McHorn who were seated next to Nick.

She leaned closer to his ear and whispered, “Nick, what's going on?”

The bunny never got a reply as the bullpen riled up when Bogo entered the room a few minutes earlier than usual and ordered everyone quiet. Everyone else received their assignments for the day, leaving the fox and rabbit pair for last.

“Hopps. You will be patrolling Downtown today.”

Her ears perked up in surprise when she only heard her name and a confused look appeared on her face. Bogo simply paused to let it sink in as he turned to Nick and savored the moment with a smug glare of his own. Nick simply sat with his jaw clamped shut, a neutral expression on his face.

“Wilde, parking duty. Dismissed.”

The Chief removed his glasses and immediately exited the room before Judy could protest. Judy’s jaw dropped as she just stood staring at the door and looked back to Nick.

“Nick…WHAT. DID. YOU. DO!?”

* * *

“I can’t believe you Nick!” Judy admonished him while following her partner down to the equipment room where he needed to pick up his vest and handheld ticketer. “Even after Clawhauser warned you? You still thought it would be a good idea to play cards and drink booze in the bullpen?” She was waving her paws furiously in the air.

Her partner had to stop for a moment to rub his temples, “Look Carrots, I had an itch to play and I actually had fun getting to know some of the guys, okay? And the Chief is giving all the money to some charity for orphaned kits. What’s done is done. I won’t do it again.”

Judy suddenly felt bad for exploding at him. The bunny was acting a bit selfish. She reached over to put her paw on his arm, “I’m sorry, Nick. I just never thought I’d be going out on the beat without you. And I’m happy you’re getting along with all the other officers. That means a lot to me.”

The both of them deflated and shared a small smile. Going into the equipment room, he grabbed the ticketer and the orange meter vest and haphazardly put it on with a sigh,” Hello, my very own clown vest.”

The bunny bit her lip and wanted to lighten the mood. “Oh, Nick...” she said to his back in a very sweet teasing tone. “I think you forgot something.”

The fox turned around and his eyes widened in horror at what Judy was spinning around in her paw, “Oh no. No. No. I am NOT putting that on!” He insisted while making a cross sweeping gesture with both arms.

“Oh yes you are! Come here, silly fox,” she playfully advanced towards him.

Nick tried to run but he knew it was completely futile. There was no outrunning Judy Hopps. Ever. His partner caught up to him with lightning speed and jumped up onto back, paws around his neck, bringing him to a slow and plopped the meter maid hat right onto his head.

Before Nick had the chance to rip the thing off his head he heard a shutter ‘click’ sound and turned to Judy in terror. She managed to have her phone ready and snapped the most comical photo of him with his full meter maid outfit.

“Oh, I love it! This is going to be my new contact photo for you,” she said making an evil grin while inspecting her handiwork.

“Carrots. Give me the phone please,” he demanded while holding a paw out.

“Nuh uh,” she smirked in his direction.

Her partner sighed and walked over to her. Judy kept an eye on his movements incase he was going to try something funny but instead he casually took the hat off and placed it on her head.

“Looks cuter on you anyway,” he said while making a mocking face and waving a finger at her. “That’s right. I said the C-word!”

“I’ll let you have that one because I still have this photo,” she replied in a low teasing tone while putting her phone away and waving her own finger towards him.

“Well, I better get to it, before Chief Buffalo-Butt makes me do this all week long,” he began to saunter towards the vehicle lot when Judy caught his paw in her paw and made him stop.

Without saying a word she reached up to his officer’s tie and pulled him closer to her. She readjusted the tie, re-buttoned his hastily fastened orange vest, smoothened out his shirt, and met his eyes with a warm smile. Nick couldn’t help but look back and returned a happy smirk of his own. He grabbed the hat back, placed it on his head, turned around, and headed out.

“See you at the end of the shift, Officer Fluff,” he called without looking back.

“Okay, Officer Toot-Toot,” she sing-songed to him.

Nick made a toot-toot gesture with his right arm before turning the corner.

* * *

Chief Bogo had them back together again the next day to patrol several high schools in the Savanna Central school district that reported an increase in minor school gang fights. Judy was driving from school to school hoping that their presence alone would deter any kits from getting rowdy. Fangmeyer and Grizzoli were also assigned to patrol the school districts and the four officers coordinated their route to maximize their coverage.

They were parked across the street from the Savanna Central South County High School. Nick had his window rolled down while leaning on his paw keeping his eyes on the schoolyard. He had finished checking some texts where the other officers from the poker game apologized and thanked him for his actions and that they were all going to make it up to him later. A small smile formed on his snout.

“So Slick, how many tickets did you end up writing?” Judy asked breaking the reverie.

“Four hundred,” came the quick reply.

“You make that sound oddly specific, Nick.” Judy leaned over with a questioning look.

“That’s exactly how much was in the pot. I’ll see if the Chief notices,” Nick said while grinning devilishly to himself.

“Do I dare ask how you managed four hundred tickets in one day?” she teased him.

The fox turned to the bunny and wiggled his fingers, “A true magician never reveals his secrets, Carrots.”

“Yup. I don’t want to know,” she laughed.

A comfortable silence fell between the two for a few minutes before Nick decided to ask a question that has been on the back his mind for awhile, “How did your Sunday date go?”

Judy was caught slightly off guard, “Oh. It was okay…”

“Just okay?” Nick prodded but a part of him was feeling relieved. He suddenly felt selfish for having that thought.

The bunny took a deep breath and answered, “He just seemed like he was really shy and… well, when I met him at the smoothie bar, he bluntly told me that he just had ten dollars to spend on me so he bought one smoothie and we went to some two dollar theatre to watch some old boring movie that was playing. Afterwards, he told me thanks and that he had to go. He even tried to kiss me on the mouth but I had turned my head away in time and got a sloppy wet cheek instead. It was… very awkward.”

By this point, Nick had turned to fully face Judy with eyes wide open and ears up, completely stunned at what he was hearing, “Wow. First off, he sounds incredibly rude. Second, you don’t deserve to be treated like that.”

“Nick, don’t be mean. I kinda felt bad for him,” Judy said quietly while making eye contact.

“Are you seriously defending this guy?” he asked with arms raised up.

“He was probably just forced into meeting me by his parents just like I was. Our parents are still pretty old fashioned and can become incredibly naggy, especially as their kits get older and aren’t settled down yet. I don’t think he was even that interested in me to begin with, Nick.”

“Even after spending time with you?” Nick asked with an incredulous tone and sighed. “What a dumb bunny. His loss.” He turned to look back out the window at the school.

His last sets of words gave Judy pause and she blinked a few times while feeling a small blush on her cheeks. She was about to comment when their speaker com suddenly blared and interrupted her. It was Clawhauser.

“All Units in the Southern Savanna Central area, we have a 10-57, hit-and-run, suspects are in a white sports coupe heading east on Baobab Blvd towards Sahara Square.”

Judy grabbed the wheel and turned the ignition, “Nick that’s right near us!”

“Way ahead of you, Carrots,” he said as he picked up the com and punched the siren and lights. “Dispatch, this is Z-240, Wilde speaking, we are en route. Over.”

Fangmeyer’s voice also responded to the call telling them that she and Grizzoli were also on the way to intercept.

* * *

The white coupe raced down the large six-lane avenue weaving between traffic with several police cruisers on their tail. Nick and Judy were right behind the vehicle, leading the squad cars, in hot pursuit. Nick attempted to order them to stop and pull over through the cruiser loudspeaker without success. 

Soon the car was clear of the main avenue traffic and heading towards the Riverside Tunnel that crosses over into Sahara Square. A police helicopter now joined in the chase, keeping eyes on the car while relaying information to all units.

Chief Bogo entered the main communications room with a clipboard in hand so that he could personally monitor the high speed chase. He grabbed a headset and was speaking to Clawhauser. Turning to the monitor he saw several cruisers keeping pace with the white coupe.

He looked down to the Comms Tech. “Which squad cars are those?” he ordered while pointing to the monitor.

“Cars Z-143, Z-198, and Z-240 in the lead, Chief.”

Bogo whispered to himself, “Z-240… Hopps and Wilde.” He ordered Clawhauser to connect him to their cruiser and spoke again, “Hopps. Wilde. I just received a report from the ZTA that the Riverside Tunnel is currently shut down for maintenance and is closed at the Sahara Square junction. There is a large marathon race passing through Vornoy Plaza on the other side. We are attempting to evacuate the citizens from the street for their safety but it is proving difficult. You have a small window of opportunity before you may need to back off. We don’t want to chase them right into all of those innocent bystanders. There isn’t enough time and room to set up a tire spike barricade.”

Officer Wilde’s voice came through the headset, “Copy that, Sir.”

The fox placed the radio com back onto its cradle, “You catch all that, Carrots?”

“Yes, Nick, we need to stop them before they get to that tunnel,” she said, eyes trained ahead with a tight grip on the steering.

Judy was flooring it but it was not enough speed to overtake the sports car quickly. Soon they rounded the final turn that lead to a short straight line into the tunnel. She could see the tunnel rapidly approaching in the distance. The interior tunnel lights were completely shut off and there was a small construction barricade with road closed signs at the entrance. The other car was not slowing down at all.

The bunny scowled, nose twitching, and issued an order, “Nick. Switch with me!”

Her partner looked at her momentarily dumbfounded, “I know that look, Carrots! Whatever you’re thinking it can’t be good!”

“Nick!” she hissed.

He grunted and immediately unbuckled his seatbelt while she did the same. On the count of three they swapped as he slid over and Judy hopped over his lap and traded positions. The cruiser momentarily slowed down till Nick regained control and pushed the pedal back down. Judy rolled down her window.

“What are you doing?” he yelled while keeping his eyes on the road.

“Cut the lights and siren and try to get alongside them! I see their windows are down.” she ordered while getting positioned at the car door.

“What!?”

“Nick, you’ll still be able to see inside the tunnel. It might be our only chance. I know you can do it!”

Nick began to swear under his breath, doing what he was told and buckled himself back in. He closed his eyes for a split second and mumbled to himself, “Alright, Flash old buddy, let’s see if those tricks you taught me come in handy.”

Reaching over, he downshifted the gears, to cause the cruiser to redline hard. Z-240’s engine roared to life and began to quickly gain top speed. He did his best to keep it steady with an iron grip on the wheel.

The sports car plowed through the signs and entered the tunnel with the cruiser following behind them.

Watching the screen, the cars disappeared into the tunnel and the helicopter lost visual. Bogo took up the mic again, “Hopps. Wilde. I need you to back off. This is becoming too dangerous and I do not want to endanger those citizens if these mammals refuse to stop!”

This time it was Officer Hopps who spoke through the com, “We can get them, Sir! Just need another minute.”

“Hopps. This is a direct order. Stand down!”

Judy was trying to reply but her com was cutting out into static.

“Hopps? Hopps? Dammit!” Bogo slammed a fist down and switched to back to Dispatch. “Clawhauser tell the helicopter to get to the other side immediately and warn the officers at the Vornoy Plaza. Get them to make some kind of makeshift barricade with tire spikes. Do it now!”

Nick could hear the engine rattling as he pushed it to its limit. Swerving into the empty left lane he was able to pull up along side the car without the other driver noticing. Glancing over he could see a raccoon driving and a skunk in the passenger seat.

Judy was ready with a tranq gun in paw. Her heart was beating like crazy and her nose twitched uncontrollably while she braced herself, “Steady Nick. Almost… almost… just a bit further up...”

The end of the tunnel was coming up too quickly, Nick made a split second decision, he reached over and grabbed Judy and pushed her back into the seat, “Carrots, strap yourself in, quick!”

“Nick! Why did you…?” she began to protest.

“JUDY, JUST DO IT! And hold on.” he ordered. At the sound of her name, the bunny obeyed by slamming her belt buckle in and gripped the strap staring wide eyed at Nick.

He let off the gas to line up the front right portion of his cruiser with the back left portion of the coupe just behind the tire and rammed into it. The white sports car suddenly lost traction as it began to skid and spin out of control into the left lane while Nick guided their cruiser to the right. Unfortunately at such high speeds and small space, the coupe careened hard into opposite wall of the tunnel, Nick tried to bring his cruiser back under control and veered back to the left. He could feel the traction slipping and with the tunnel exit quickly approaching, Nick did the only thing he could think of.

“Oh, No, no, no. Hold on!” He ordered and rammed the driver side of the coupe with the front of their vehicle into the wall.

The sounds of metal hitting and screeching against concrete reverberated throughout. Both cars deployed airbags and slid along the wall before coming to a stop. Smoke began to escape from Z-240’s hood.

Jabbing at the airbag with his predator claws, Nick quickly deflated it out of his face and looked over to Judy, “Carrots?”

“I’m okay, I think… ugh,” she grunted while unbuckled herself and slipped out from under her airbag rubbing her right arm.

There was barely any light inside except for the illuminations of the headlights and the rays of sun off in the distance peeking through the Sahara Square exit. In the distance, they could hear the sounds of the police copter and sirens of the other cruisers. The two cruisers, Z-143 and Z-198, that were ordered to break pursuit earlier, were now coming up the tunnel from the Savanna Central direction.

Judy’s ears shot up at the sounds of breaking glass, followed by angry swearing as they both looked up to see the suspects crawling out of their vehicle through the broken windshield. They were now able to see the hateful bloodshot eyes and ragged breathing on both suspects. It looked like they might be high on some type of drug.

The two officers opened their doors and got out with weapons drawn. Judy shouted at the two mammals, “ZPD! Paws up now!”

The skunk and raccoon were raising their paws but the skunk reached behind and produced a firearm and opened fire on Judy. The bunny yelped as she quickly ducked behind her car door for cover. With no hesitation Nick trained his aim off the raccoon and shot the skunk directly in the chest. However, that gave his accomplice time to charge Nick and he slammed into the cruiser door and wedged Nick in the frame with a crunch. Undeterred by the low light, the rampaging coon began to slash and bite at Nick who was trying to protect himself as best he could with his free left arm.

Loud sounds of tires screeching to a halt echoed in the tunnel as the other officers quickly arrived and exited their vehicles. The large raccoon was so focused on Nick that he didn’t react in time as several paws grabbed him from behind and slammed him into the ground. Fangmeyer held him down with a knee into his back and her forearm pressed into the nape of his neck while Grizzoli cuffed the perp. They put a muzzle on him and then threw him into the back of their cruiser.

Meanwhile, Delgato and Wolfard rushed over to check on Nick and Judy. Delgato leaned down to open the door off Nick and helped him to his feet.

“Wilde, you alright?” he asked his fellow officer.

“Yeah, just some scratches and bruises. Gonna have some nice raspberries under the fur later.” Nick tried to look around to the other side of the cruiser. “What about Officer Hopps?”

“She’s okay, Wilde,” answered Wolfard. “But it looks like she got grazed by a bullet in the arm. Nothing too serious. I’ll call in the medical bus and update the Chief that it’s over.”

Judy was breathing a little heavy while clutching her right arm. Wolfard let her know he was going with a nod and stood up to make the call into his police radio. Nick asked Delgato to help him over to Judy and the lion eased the fox down to the ground next to his partner. Afterwards, Delgato went to cuff and move the unconscious skunk into their cruiser.

Nick slipped his paw around Judy and gently pulled her closer. “I’m here, Carrots,” he whispered.

“I know, I’ll be alright,” she smiled while tilting her head to rest on his shoulder. “Are you okay, Nick?”

“You’re worried about me? I’m not the one who just got a red badge of courage. Brave bunny.” he teased and gave her a light squeeze.

Judy closed her eyes and chuckled, “Nick, where did you learn those maneuvers?”

“Would you believe me if I told you that Flash has been teaching me some tricks off duty? He offered me some driving lessons when we let him go on those light charges,” he leaned back against the car and closed his eyes too and then patted their cruiser. “Though I think I went a little too rough on the ol’ Hareraiser back there.”

“I shouldn’t be surprised. And don’t call her that.”

“Oh, it’s a ‘her’ now?”

The bunny lightly elbowed her partner in the ribs.

“Ow, ow, ow, Carrots, I’m actually hurting there,” he yelped.

“Oh sorry… I’m sorry!” she whispered while trying to gently rub the pain away.

More officers and the medical bus arrived flooding the tunnel with flashes of blue and red flickering lights. The EMTs came rushing over to take a look at the the fox and bunny’s injuries.

* * *

After having their minor wounds dressed and bandaged, Nick and Judy found themselves in Chief Bogo’s office once they were back at the station and finished their reports. They were sharing the large seat in front of the cape buffalo who was glaring at them with the closed case file in hoof.

“Tell me, Hopps, Wilde. What am I supposed to do with you two? You caught two mammals who committed an involuntary mammalslaughter through a hit and run, recklessly endangered civilians on the road, were found in abuse and possession of methamphetamine, possession of an illegal firearm, and finally, attempted murder on two of my officers.”

Bogo paused for effect and let them squirm for a moment. He almost felt bad reprimanding them while seeing them beat up and bandaged as they were. Almost.

The Chief took his glasses off and continued, “But you disobeyed a direct order and wrecked your cruiser like it was in some kind of demolition derby! It will take almost a week to repair your vehicle. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

Judy was the first to speak up, “Sir, I know we got a little ahead of ourselves but we had to stop the bad guys before they could hurt anyone else.”

“Hopps, let me be frank,” Bogo began in a low deep tone. “You may be one of my best officers in this precinct but I need to remind you of one thing.” He raised his voice to drive the point home while drumming a hoof into his desk. “It’s not about how badly you want something, it’s about what you are capable of! And today that could have been capable of disaster!”

“But, Sir!...” Judy tried to stand so should lean up onto his desk.

“Enough! I still have to reprimand you both. One week paid suspension,” he ordered.

The bunny tried to speak up one more time but this time it was Nick who interrupted her. He slid off the chair and stood straight with both paws behind his back, even though it caused him some discomfort from his bruising.

“Permission to speak, Chief,” he requested.

Both the bunny and the cape buffalo turned their eyes to him. There was no jest or snark in his voice. No smirk or smug grin on his snout. Nick wore a serious expression that caught both of them off guard. 

Chief Bogo narrowed his eyes, “Go ahead, Wilde.”

“Sir, as it states in my report, at the time of your withdrawal order, I was behind the wheel and I made the decision to stay in pursuit. It was also my decision to ram the suspect’s vehicle in order to disable it before they reached the tunnel exit. It is my fault that put us at risk when the skunk drew his weapon. Do not punish Officer Hopps for my poor judgement,” when he finished Nick reached down to unhook his badge and placed it on the desk in front of Bogo.

Judy simply stood there completely stunned and speechless staring at Nick. He avoided her gaze while keeping his own eyes trained onto Bogo’s who had to blink a few times himself to believe what he was hearing. The buffalo looked down at the badge and then back up to Nick before frowning and pointed a hoof at the fox.

“Very well, Officer Wilde. But let me make this clear. You too are becoming one of my best officers but you are really skating on thin ice this week. I will accept this request not because you want it but because I choose it. Dismissed.”

“Thank you, Sir,” came the calm and polite reply and Nick immediately turned around and sauntered out of the office with both hands in his pockets.

Finally finding her voice, Judy turned back to Bogo, “Chief, this isn’t right, I…”

Slamming a fist down to silence her, Bogo gave one last order, “Hopps. Not another word. Do not bother to come to roll call the rest of this week. You will be on parking duty. You. Are. Dismissed. Now!”

Her ears fell and eyes cast towards the floor. “Yes, Sir,” came the meek reply and she exited the office.

Closing the door softly, she saw Nick a little ways down the hall and ran after him. She quickly caught up to him and blocked his path, forcing him to stop and look at her.

“Nick! What in the carrot flakes was that?” she demanded visibly upset.

“There was no reason for both of us to be suspended, Fluff. I know how much being here means to you,” came the quiet reply while he tried to avoid looking into those soul piercing violet eyes.

“And you think that’s okay for you to be the martyr? That this is what I would want instead? That I want to be here without my partner? Without you?” Judy was almost screaming. “You… dumb… dumb fox… where is the solidarity in that? If you aren’t here, I shouldn’t be here! We should be taking this… together...”

His partner’s voice suddenly cracked at the very end and he looked down to see wetness building in her eyes. Nick felt like a complete ass. He quickly kneeled down and reached out to Judy.

“Carrots…” the fox opened his arms and the bunny walked forward and slumped her head against his shoulder. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I should have considered how you would really feel about it. I’m sorry.”

“Of course, I forgive you Slick,” she whispered into his ear and fully embraced him. “Don’t do this again.”

“I won’t.”

They stayed that way for a long time in the hallway, not caring who saw them. Nick eventually pulled away and looked her in the eyes, “Tell ya what, I’m pretty much done setting up my apartment. Come over after your shift tomorrow and I’ll make you dinner. How’s that sound?”

“I’d love that,” she replied with a sweet smile.

A thought entered Nick’s head and he couldn’t leave it at just that. “Actually, how about on one condition?”

Hints of annoyance and curiosity creeped into Judy’s voice, “Nick…”

“You have to get four hundred and one tickets tomorrow,” he teased her with a wink.

Judy was tempted to smack him but instead she looked at him with lidded eyes, a nonplussed expression, and accepted his challenge, “Fine. I will make it four hundred and two. BEFORE my shift is done!”

* * *

Agent Edward Coltson was sitting at his desk typing away on his computer when his phone rang and he picked it up immediately.

“Coltson speaking. Yes. Yes, Sir. I am waiting for the list right now. Sir, I will have it on your desk first thing tomorrow. Yes, Sir I will be contacting Chief Bogo soon. Thank you, Sir… Goodnight.”

He put the phone away and another agent walked into his office and handed him several documents. Coltson thanked the agent and waved him away. The clydesdale found the list in question he was waiting for. It contained all of the names of the ZPD officers that the MBI would be recruiting for his upcoming undercover operation.

Leaning back in his seat, he double checked the names:

Judith L. Hopps, 25, Female, Oryctolagus cuniculus

Nicholas P. Wilde, 33, Male, Vulpes vulpes

Brian N. Ardwulf, 28, Male, Canis lupus lycaon

Gregory M. Wolfard, 29, Male, Canis lupus occidentalis

Stephanie L. Fangmeyer, 30, Female, Panthera tigris

Scott E. McHorn, 40, Male, Ceratotherium simum

Francine A. Trunkaby, 36, Female, Loxodonta africana

Placing the document down on his desk, Coltson leaned back and stared at the ceiling, whispering to himself, “Soon Felisky… you will be ours.”


	7. Home is Where You Are

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy returns to being a meter maid after a year on the force and she visits Nick's new apartment for his housewarming. Since some of this was cut from last chapter, enjoy one long chapter full of fluffy content with another reveal and comedy. And what might Nick be making? ;) The songs mentioned are actually from the official Disney spotify lists, so they are canon! I changed the artist names to sound more animal-ish. Enjoy!

It was quickly approaching noon and Judy had already dished out well over two hundred tickets, having a nice lead on her old record from her first day on the force. Of course, she had already been yelled at by several mammals who weren’t too happy about their parking violations. The day was much warmer than usual and she was glad she brought some extra water to stay hydrated. Taking a small break in the shade, she downed a whole bottle before continuing. Her right arm was still feeling very sore from the bullet graze. She was thankful that is all it was.

Having covered most of the Downtown area, she was planning to drive over to Sahara Square for a few hours before coming back to recheck the next wave of freshly metered vehicles. The bunny just finished checking another block of parked cars when she realized she was standing across from Jumbeaux’s Cafe. 

A wave of emotions and memories swept through Judy as she stared at the entrance of the Egyptian-styled frieze elephant ice cream parlor. She could picture Nick standing there looking to enter the shop as if it was only yesterday. It made her pause and reflect. What if she hadn’t seen him? What if she had decided to ignore her bias and continued ticketing. Once inside, what if she had walked away instead of defending his right to purchase a jumbo pop as a fox customer?

The memory of her profiling him and suspiciously following him inside assuming he was up to no good hurt her heart. But that strange moment of a wrongful attitude lead to her meeting a fox who would become her best friend, who defended her career from being terminated, who helped her solve the biggest case the city had seen in years, and become her partner at the ZPD. Judy smiled as she wiped her happy teary eyes on her sleeve.

Like deja vu, a car horn pulled the bunny from her thoughts, she looked up to see a cruiser pulling up slowly in front of her. Z-143 came to a stop and she saw the smiling faces of Fangmeyer and Grizzoli waving at her. The white timber wolf rolled down his passenger side window and leaned out on his elbow.

“Judy! We were hoping we’d bump into you around here since we got assigned Downtown patrol today. Bogo said you’d be doing parking duty the rest of the week.”

“Hey guys! Yeah, Nick and I sorta got in a lot of trouble for being too reckless yesterday. I don’t think the Chief could just let us off the hook so here I am…” she replied. Her voice became quieter as she spoke.

Fangmeyer leaned over in the car seat to be closer to the open window, “We heard about Nick. We’re sorry Judy. That poor fox has had a rough week.”

Judy lowered her gaze to the sidewalk while clutching her ticketer in both paws near her chest. “I know. He didn’t want anyone else to get punished so he took all the blame...”

Grizzoli and Fangmeyer shared a glance and frowned but turned back to Judy with returned smiles.

“Hey, since it’s almost lunch time, Steph and I were thinking, if we found you, we would take you with us to grab a bite to eat. What do you say, Hopps?”

The bunny’s down expression instantly changed and she perked up at the suggestion. “Really? Oh that would be so nice! Thank you both!”

Grizzoli grinned and opened his door while scooting over, “Jump in, there should still be plenty of room upfront. We’ll come back for your maid mobile after we eat.”

With a single leap, Judy hopped into the police cruiser and the trio drove off down the street. Grizzoli looked down at Judy’s ticketer counter display and whistled.

“Wow, Hopps. Two hundred and sixty-two tickets already? Steph, is that some kind of department record?” the white timber wolf laughed.

“Knowing Judy, I wouldn’t be surprised,” the tigress chuckled.

“Well, I have a bet with Nick. That sly fox somehow managed four hundred tickets on Tuesday and told me he would make dinner for me tonight for his new apartment housewarming if I got four hundred and one tickets. I told him I would get four hundred and two,” the bunny explained.

The wolf and tigress exchanged glances again with raised eyebrows and amused grins at hearing the ‘dinner at his place’ bit but said nothing.

Fangmeyer turned down the street and looked over to Grizzoli, “Hey Alex, text the guys, and let’s see if we can get a little something for Wilde for his new home. We still owe him for Monday night.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea. On it!” Grizzoli exclaimed as he took his phone out.

“Aw, you guys are so sweet!” Judy said smiling between her two co-workers.

“Alright, here we are, Judy,” Fangmeyer said as they pulled into the lot of a small family owned cafe called ‘In the Water Hole’. “This is one of our favorite hole in the wall places. Bad pun, I know.” She chuckled. “I think you’ll really like the food here. It has a menu for predators and prey.”

“Yup. If it’s hard to find and has a terrible name, it means it has the best grub!” Grizzoli supplied.

Judy smiled excitedly as they exited the cruiser and headed inside the cafe.

* * *

The end of the afternoon drew near and Judy, dressed in her teal t-shirt and black leggings, was walking down the sidewalk along Walnut St. with three large boxes in her paws. The weight made her injured arm ache but she persevered through the pain as she comically tried to keep the gifts steady and soon arrived at the entrance to the Walnut Midtown West complex. She took a moment to look at the building. It looked so much newer, cleaner, and more modern than her old complex. A moose was exiting the building as she came up the steps and offered to hold the door for her. She thanked him for his kindness and proceeded to climb the six flights of stairs before arriving in front of 610, Nick’s new home. The bunny had to knock with her foot.

Nick was standing in front of the stove, wooden spoon in paw, trying to follow a recipe he found online on his phone when his ears perked up at the sound of light thumping against his door. Looking at the time, he smiled, it had to be Judy.

The fox sauntered over to the door and opened it wide with a big smirk as he looked down in surprise, “Whoa, Carrots! What’s all this? Let me help you,” he said as he reached down to relieve her of all the packages she was carrying.

She breathed a sigh of relief, “Thank you, Nick. My arm was getting a little bit sore there.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t call me down to help,” he said as he put the items down onto the wooden floor and made a grand sweeping gesture with his arm. “Well, here it is… Casa de Wilde!”

Judy brought her paws together and gasped while looking around. The apartment was so huge compared to her’s. The walls were pearly white and clean, the ceiling was so high, and she saw all the brand new furniture with a fairly nice entertainment center in the spacious living room.

“Oh my goodness, Nick! I didn’t think it would be so nice! You can afford this on your salary?”

Nick was standing there amused with one arm crossed and the other resting on his chin, watching Judy’s reaction, “Well, funny story that… the building owner, who is also the landlord downstairs, gave me a really good deal. His cousin was one of the fourteen missing mammals. The brown bear who was missing from Savanna Central. He recognized me from the TV news reports when I came to ask about the place.”

“Really?” Judy hopped and gave him a light tap on the arm.

“Yup. And remember when I told you that one night how I sent all my leftover hustling money to my Mom?”

“Yeah?”

“Turns out she knew it was me sending her that money all those years so she just shoved it all into some safe she bought that she kept in my old room. When I visited her the week after graduation, she demanded I take it all back and to stop living like a literal troll. I’m still not sure if she meant it metaphorically or not,” he chuckled.

Judy closed the gap to give him a big hug, “Mmm. I’m so glad you have a real home now.”

“It is a change of pace, that’s for sure,” he said as he gently squeezed her back.

She looked up at him with a beaming smile only to have her eyes widen when she just now noticed his clothes, ”Nick, you fixed your old green shirt and your Dad’s tie!?”

“Yup!” He gestured down his chest with a smirk, “Just as good as new. Wait, how did you know it was my Dad’s tie?”

“I saw your Dad wearing it in that old family photo that was in your Mom’s living room. And… I recognized the wallpaper design too…” she bit her lip with her paws clasped in front of her. She didn’t know if she should also mention the neckerchief but left it at that. Judy found herself a little sad that he wasn’t wearing that violet tie tonight but quickly pushed that thought away.

Nick simply blinked at her and smiled, “Clever bunny.” He then looked back over to the three boxes on the floor. “So, what’s in those packages there, Carrots?”

The bunny hopped excitedly over to them, “These are presents for you!”

“All from you?” he raised an eyebrow.

“One is! This one here…” Judy picked up the large unwrapped brown parcel, “is our monthly care package from my parents! I peeked inside and it’s full of extra blueberries.”

The fox practically swooned, “Oh my god, yes! It feels like it’s been way too long since I had some. I really need to call and thank your Mom,” he pointed out with his paw.

Judy put it back down and then picked up the next box that was gift wrapped, “And this… is from the guys at the station. They wanted to get you a little something since the poker incident and after hearing about you getting suspended for a week.” She held up the gift for him.

His mouth pursed a bit, as he slowly tore through the wrapping, revealing a nice reddish rosewood case with a golden trim latch. He opened it to reveal an exquisitely made poker set with two decks of thick stock playing cards with gorgeous artwork and high quality poker chips sitting in a nice black velvet interior. There was a card inside. Nick took it out and opened it.

“To Wilde: A gift for your new place. We want a rematch with our favorite fox. We miss your antics and even the Chief seemed very sad this morning without your snark! Signed, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Wolfard, McHorn, Clawhauser, Delgato, and Snarlof.”

Nick didn’t know what to say as he put the card back in and gently closed the case. Judy watched him look away at something on the wall with a barely audible sniffle that only her rabbit ears could catch as he rubbed the back of his neck.

She placed a paw on his arm and whispered, “See Slick, they miss you too.”

“Yeah…” he replied quietly. “And that last one. Yours?”

The bunny smiled and walked over to the last box. It was large and gift wrapped in colorful carrot wrapping paper with a pink bow. Judy picked it up and brought the gift over to Nick as he set the poker case down on his coffee table. Just as before, he carefully unwrapped it to reveal a nice green box. He opened the flaps to reveal another box containing a very nice and expensive looking coffee maker, several packs of his favorite blend from Snarlbucks, and a giant navy mug. Picking up the mug, he turned it over to reveal several words next to measuring lines from top to bottom: “--- SHHH, --- NOT YET, --- NOW YOU MAY SPEAK”. Turning it over once more showed a custom stenciled golden ZPD badge on the back.

His partner had slowly moved closer, keeping her violet eyes on him so she could watch his face. It took a lot of willpower for Nick to keep himself from getting too emotional in this moment. Leave it to Judy to get him something that was thoughtful, practical, and humorous. He kneeled down to set aside the gifts and gave her that same smile like when she had given him his badge at the graduation and opened his arms. She jumped forward into the invitation.

“You like it, Nick?” she quietly asked.

“Love it, Carrots,” he whispered.

After what seemed like an eternity, the two separated. Nick got up, doing his best to keep a calm demeanor, and placed the gift next to the poker case, “Boy, I better check on dinner…” he feigned while heading back into the kitchen. “So how many tickets did the super meter maid write today?”

Hearing the humor return in his voice, Judy reached for her phone, “Oh, I have my meal ticket right here mister.” She went to her photo gallery, bringing up the pic she took of her ticketer display with date and time, and held it up for him to see.

Nick turned around and leaned over, “Well, five hundred and twenty-six. I knew you’d be an overachiever. We better be careful now though, or they’ll have our pictures in the paper for being the best worst meter maids ever.” He pointed over to the bar stools next to the breakfast bar. “Have a seat there. One dinner coming up soon.”

Chuckling, she walked up the far right bar stool. Judy noticed it had a motorized adjustable height function. She flipped the switch to bring it down, hopped on, then raised it to the perfect height for her to sit at the counter. “Wow, Nick, this is really cool to have.”

“I figured it would be nice. Between you, Finn, and my Mom, it made sense to get something that everyone could use. So many shorties in my life,” he winked.

Judy flicked her tongue out at him before putting her elbows on the counter and settling her chin on top of her laced fingers, watching him navigate between several pieces of cookware on the stove. One was boiling water, another had a sauce pan filled with crickets and shrimp, and a third giant bowl looked like it was filled with all kinds of fruits and greens. She saw him squinting at some text on his phone.

“You got this handled, Slick?” the bunny egged him on.

He waved his paw at her in a shoo’ing manner, only to have his phone ring and a photo of his Mom appear on the screen. “Well, speak of the vixen devil...” He answered, “Hi Mom.”

Nick stopped what he was doing so he could focus on the conversation as Judy listened in, ”What? What did you see in the paper? No, I’m okay, really. Just some bruises. Yes… yes, she’s okay too. Infact she’s sitting right behind me. What? I’m making dinner for her at my place. No… no, I’m not trying to poison her… no, Mom, you don’t need to come over here and cook the food… Mom, I swear to… I’m sure I can handle making spaghetti and a nice bunny salad!”

Judy had to put her paw over her mouth to keep from laughing so loudly. “Hi, Mrs. Wilde!” she yelled at Nick’s back hoping Mrs. Wilde could hear her.

He turned around to roll his eyes and mouth that she heard Judy and said hello. “Okay… okay, yes. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Goodnight. Love you too.”

“Aw, that’s so sweet she was checking on us and wanted to come over and cook us dinner.” Judy teased him before she added, “My parents called today too. They probably saw the same article in the Zootopia Times and flipped out about that high speed chase we stopped. It took me half an hour to calm them down.”

“Yeah, I always have to downplay the job to her,” came the serious reply. “Okay, I got this,” he declared and then took his phone over to the TV center and put it down onto a special dock. It lit up his music system and some music began to play at a nice medium volume throughout the room while he returned to finish cooking.

Her ears turned towards the music. The song ‘Born to be Wild - Timberwolf’ began to play. “How fitting Officer Wilde. Let me guess. This is one of your favorite songs?” She laughed.

“A classic.”

The fox was now prepping her salad by adding the finishing touches and tossing it in the bowl while the spaghetti was finishing boiling. Judy noticed Nick was able to use both hands equally well. She wondered if he might actually be ambidextrous. Another song came on, one Judy hadn’t heard before. She peered at the phone screen and it said ‘Blindfold - Morcheetah’. Listening to the lyrics, she really liked it and was impressed Nick had such a song on his playlist. The next one queued up which gave her another surprise, ‘She’s a Lady - Tiger Jones’.

Now Judy looked at Nick with raised eyebrows. His head was lightly bobbing as he continued his cooking. She couldn’t help thinking if Slick Nick was really Smooth Nick when entertaining lady guests. But of course the next song broke that train of thought completely. Now ‘The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) - Yunnan Hare’ came through the speakers. 

“Oh my god, Nick, of course you’d have THIS song!” she giggled.

“What? You don’t like what the fox says, Carrots?” he looked over his shoulder.

“I get plenty of what the fox says hanging around you everyday,” she pointed out.

“Touché.”

The cherry on top was the last song before dinner was finished, ‘Danger Zone - Kenny Leopard’. Judy took a deep breath and rolled her eyes.

Her partner looked over to his phone dock with a smirk, “Hah. That’s fitting. You’ll be going into the danger zone with this cooking. Dinner is ready!”

“God Nick, that was cheesy.”

“Only on this spaghetti.”

“Please stop,” she laughed.

* * *

Dinner was relatively quiet as both mammals were very hungry and happily ate their meals. For Judy, Nick tried to prepare one of her favorite salads, a very large leafy romaine salad filled with fresh watercress, celery, small bits of carrot tops, raspberries, kiwi, a touch of mint, and apple vinegar. For himself, he prepared a simple cricket and shrimp spaghetti platter with some parmesan on top. Dessert was a choice of strawberry, blueberry, or vanilla ice creams. Naturally he took blueberry and added some of the Hopps Family Farm blueberries on top while Judy took vanilla with some blueberries too.

Judy was sitting on the incredibly comfortable and large navy couch while Nick brought some drinks over and handed her a mint tea while he cracked open a beer and joined her on the sofa. He stretched his arm over the top of the back cushion and crossed a leg.

“Nick, I’m impressed. That was pretty good. Do you cook often?” she smiled looking up to him.

“Not really. Not since I lived in that old basement in the Nocturnal District.” He took a sip. “Figured I’d keep it pretty simple tonight,” he laughed modestly.

“Well, I think you did great,” she complimented while leaning back with her paws resting on her full belly. 

They sat for a few minutes in comfortable silence. Her ear tips brushed the underpart of his forearm causing his eyes to widen and shift into a different sitting position from the soft tickle. 

“Agh. Carrot sticks!” she muttered.

“What is it?” he looked down, amused at her choice of swear words.

The bunny sighed, “I knew I felt a snag on my shirt on the way over. Looks like I ripped a part of the bottom. Great. I really like this one too.”

The fox leaned over to inspect the small rip, “I can fix it.”

“What?” her eyes shot up to his with a puzzled look on her muzzle.

“I can fix it,” he casually repeated. “Wait here.”

Nick jumped off the couch, setting his beer down, and disappeared into his room. Emerging a moment later with his casual blue ZPD gym t-shirt, he walked over and held it out for Judy. “Put this on. It’s clean. And give me your shirt. You can change in my room or the bathroom back there.” He pointed behind him with his thumb to the second door on the left.

Judy took the shirt and went to change. When she came back out, Nick thought she looked really cute in the oversized ZPD shirt. It fell all the way down to her ankles and was slipping off one of her shoulders. Naturally he kept this thought to himself. She held up her teal shirt for him.

The fox took the shirt and headed to the other room while the bunny followed him. He turned the lights on in his office to reveal all of the tailor and sewing tools neatly organized on his work desk. Walking up to the desk, he spread the shirt and began to gather the necessary tools to repair the article of clothing.

“Nick, what is all of this? You know how to sew?” she finally asked looking at him with paws spread and a shocked expression.

“And hem. This was all of my Dad’s stuff. He was a tailor.”

She blinked, thinking back to the photo of John Wilde, remembering how well dressed he appeared with his family. 

Judy turned to Nick who had already found a near perfect matching thread color and was already knotting the thread. He tested the needle with one of the pads under his paw and then began to repair it with a blind stitch method, expertly weaving the thread in and out creating very tiny stitches perpendicular to the rip till it was closed and unnoticeable.

“Here we are. All done,” he smirked looking over his handiwork.

Standing behind Nick, Judy stared in amazement. “Nick, weren’t you only seven when he...?”

“That’s right. I was always with him after school and most weekends,” Nick spoke quietly while he leaned forward on both paws against the desk. “I would sit and watch him work all the time at home. He wanted to open his very own suit shop that catered to mammals of all sizes, so they could look their very best whether it was for a job interview, a wedding, a special occasion, a date, anything… he wanted to called it Wilde & Son’s Suit-topia!”

Nick made a grand arching gesture with his arms overhead when he said the shop name before his eyes downcast to Judy’s shirt in front of him and he lowered his paws back onto the table as he continued, “I went with him to every bank where he tried to pitch for a loan. One after another, they kept rejecting his business idea. I lost count of how many times we were refused. But he never gave up. Never let it get to him… always kept a smile on his face and stayed courteous and professional no matter how hostile some of those mammals would be to us.”

The fox paused to take a breath, “Finally one day, we found a bank that approved his idea and he got the loan. He was so happy that day, Carrots. We went out to celebrate. Soon, he was able to open the shop in Happytown. It was quite successful and he earned a hell of a reputation for himself. But… once Happytown turned into a ghetto and fell into ruin, business practically stopped. He had to resort to cold calling old clients to come in, making house calls, and doing odd jobs on the side again to keep the shop open and keep a roof over our heads. Mom was working as a librarian and took on some extra work to help but in the end, it wasn’t enough.”

At this point, Judy moved closer to Nick, tears welling in her eyes and she kept a paw on his arm for support.

“After he passed away, we had to close the shop down. I made it a goal to sneak in there and take everything of his I could before it either got looted or the bank came to repossess everything that was left behind and sell it off. Everything you see here came from his shop,” he gestured while finishing the story, his voice becoming low and he fought real hard to keep it from cracking while he closed his eyes.

Judy closed her eyes, ears drooping, and moved closer to silently wrap her paws around his waist and hug her best friend while she leaned her cheek against his back. Nick placed one of his larger paws over both of her paws and the two mammals stood quietly together for a long time.

The small bunny finally broke the silence, “Back at your home, while you were washing dishes, your Mom told me what happened to him.” She sniffled, “Nick, I am so sorry…”

Nick squeezed her paws, remembering how he wondered what the two women were crying about that night, “Nothing anyone could do, Fluff. But thank you.”

Taking a big breath, he slowly pulled away from Judy and handed her the fixed shirt with a smile, “Here. I’ll head back to the living room so you can change.”

“Okay, Nick.” She took the shirt, looking at him with a warm smile, and waited for him to leave before she began to change.

* * *

They found themselves outside on the patio, enjoying the evening air, listening to the buzz of the street below and admiring the nightly Zootopian city skyline. Nick was leaning against the small railing staring out at the northern Downtown buildings.

Checking her shirt one more time on her person, Judy couldn’t spy the rip anymore at all. She looked back up to her partner and found her eyes settling on his Dad’s tie again when a thought occurred to her.

“Nick?”

“Hmm?”

“Did you… also fix the tie and make your shirt?” she curiously asked.

“Sure did,” he turned his head back to make eye contact with a smirk. “Who do you think made that elephant suit for Finn? My best work yet!”

“Seems I’ve been learning something new about you a lot lately,” she chuckled and gazed up to his green eyes with her violet eyes shining in the evening moonlight.

The look in her eyes made Nick pause and he inhaled a breath while averting his eyes back to the skyline. He found his own gaze settling on the very top terrace of the barely visible ZPD headquarters. Judy came closer and got on her tiptoes so she could cross her arms and rest her chin on the top of the railing and share the view with him.

“Wow, you can see the station from here,” she whispered.

“Our home away from home,” he quipped.

Sighing, as she looked at the lit terrace, “Speaking of work, I guess I better head back. I still have parking duty tomorrow.”

“I’ll walk you home,” he offered.

“You don’t have to Nick, but thank you,” she smiled. 

“Oh, before I forget…” he stopped to reach into his pocket and held out a small key in his larger paw. “This is for you.”

Judy glanced at the key and then back to him, “What’s this?”

“The spare key. You know you’re welcome to come over anytime you want, Carrots.”

Nick barely had enough time to brace himself before the collision of small gray fluff squeezed him so hard in appreciation. After a few moments, Judy released him and then took the key and put it in her pocket. The fox walked the bunny to the door and they said their goodbyes.

“I’ll see you tomorrow?” she asked.

“You bet,” he answered while leaning an elbow against the door frame.

The bunny smiled and waved enthusiastically before heading down the hallway and taking the flight of stairs. The fox quietly closed the door. He found himself back on the railing watching the street. Looking down he was able to spot Judy one last time as she headed north with a slight skip in her steps. Almost as if she could feel his presence, she happened to turn around and looked back in the direction of the building and saw Nick. She gave him one last big wave goodbye and he returned the goodbye with a smaller wave of his own. Judy looked back one last time before disappearing around the block.

A thought entered Nick’s head as he watched her silhouette vanish. This fancy new place, the police station, they weren’t home. Home was wherever Judy was. Judy who now knew more about him than any mammal he’d ever met. Nick closed his eyes and inwardly sighed. 

“That’s right, Wilde, keep digging that hole, you dumb fox,” he mumbled to himself before heading back inside and closing the sliding door.

* * *

After sleeping in a bit, and making breakfast, Nick was out running some morning errands looking through various thread and fabric stores searching for some very specific materials. He wondered if he might bump into Judy on the street but no such luck so far. There was still a piece of a puzzle he needed to solve. Taking out his phone he dialed the direct ZPD dispatch number.

The usual cheery voice of Clawhauser answered the line, “Good morning, you’ve reached the ZPD Dispatch, how can I help you?”

“Hey Claws, it’s Nick.”

He had to move the phone slightly away from his ear from the loud gasp on the other end, “Oh. Em. Goodness, Nick! Is everything okay?”

“I’m good. I know I shouldn’t be using this line for non emergencies but I needed a quick favor, Claws.”

“What can I do for my favorite fox?” came the jovial reply. It sounded like he was eating another donut.

“I have no idea when Ca—Judy’s birthday is. I know it wasn’t during my nine month training so I’m assuming it’s around now and I need your help. Could you look it up and text it to me, pretty please?”

“Oh, that is so sweet!” he squealed. “Are you going to surprise her with something special?”

“You could say that. Please don’t tell her or anyone else,” he begged.

“Oh. Oh. My lips are sealed!”

“Thanks Claws. I won’t hold you up any longer…” Nick paused before finishing, “Hey Clawhauser… thanks for the gift. Please tell the others thank you and that I love it.”

“You’re very welcome, Nick. See you back soon!” he said before hanging up the line.

Smiling at the phone, Nick brought up his Zoogle app. He wasn’t finding what he needed in Downtown so he did another online search. It looked like his next stop would be a sheep fabric emporium in the Meadowlands. Sauntering down the sidewalk he headed to the nearest subway to catch the next available train.

* * *

Back at his apartment, Nick placed all of his purchases in the office room and began to organize the materials for his special project and began by taking out the extremely soft rich jersey knit fabric he found onto the cutting board. He took out some thread, scissors, pins, and a stitching needle. Taking out the two yards of fabric, he inspected it to determine the proper length, folded it, and cut it down the fold lengthwise. After removing the excess, he pinned the raw edges, and was sitting at the desk using the sewing machine to sew down the length of the fabric.

The fox was making good progress when he heard a knock at the door. His Mom had called earlier and wanted to stop by today. Closing the office door, he strolled over to the front door, opening it to reveal the elder vixen who was carrying a small box.

“Nicholas!” she happily stepped in and hugged him.

“Hey, Mom,” he said returning the hug and then closing the door. “Come on in. What’s that?”

Mrs. Wilde hadn’t seen the furnished apartment yet. She glanced all around the living space, nodding her approval. “Well, you did a great job decorating, Nicholas, but I knew you’d need some small extra touches… which is why I brought this!” She held up the box and walked over to the coffee table to set it down.

The vixen leaned down to open the box and began to pull out various small items. Some nice scent candles, a few books for his shelf, a small welcome sign for the door, and finally some very nice wooden picture frames. Some contained photos from her home, the rest were empty.

Nick peeked over her shoulder, “Mom, you didn’t have to get all this stuff…”

“Oh, hush. I knew you’d be too lazy to really make this feel like a proper home,” she said while getting up to place the frames around the living room. 

There was the photo of Nick saluting proudly in his Junior Ranger Scout uniform, another one of the Wilde family, a third with Nick, Flash, and his Mom from high school, and finally a very nice photo that was taken from his Police Academy graduation.

“These ones...” she waved the empty frames before placing them on his shelf and smiling. “I expect you to fill with some new pictures. A few photos of you and Judy would be nice.”

The younger fox began to rub the back of his neck at the suggestion. He tried really hard to not let her see that the statement was getting to him, “I’m sure I will think of something…”

Mrs. Wilde noticed the very nice rosewood case sitting on the table and picked it up, “What’s this, Nicholas?”

“Oh, that! It’s, uh… a small gift from the guys at the station… for… um… a job well done on the last couple of cases and a housewarming gift.”

She raised her eyebrow at him and opened it, “A poker set, huh? This is very nice craftsmanship. Speaking of work, I’m surprised you aren’t working today.”

“Well… the Chief gave me some extra days off since the last couple of days were… so hectic,” he lied while gesturing with his paws out.

He couldn’t tell if she was buying it and watched his Mom make her way into the kitchen where she saw the mug Judy got him sitting on the countertop. Mrs. Wilde picked it up to inspect it in her paw and smiled, “This is cute. Who got you this?”

“Judy did. Including that coffee maker behind you. I used it this morning for the first time. Makes a hell of a cup o’joe!”

The vixen turned around to look at the machine, “That bunny girl is so sweet. You better be treating her well, Nicholas,” she jabbed a teasing finger his way.

All Nick could do was raise his paws in an ‘oh c’mon’ gesture while she laughed at him.

Now Mrs. Wilde moved to the pantry and fridge and began poking around at what was stocked.

“Seriously, Mom, are you just gonna go and inspect every little thing?”

“Yes,” came the nonchalant reply.

He rolled his eyes and then heard his phone beep. Looking at the notification, it was a text from Clawhauser. Nick’s face lit up and he opened the message, “I knew it,” he whispered to himself.

“You look so happy all of a sudden,” his Mom interrogated.

Nick smirked back and leaned onto the counter while waving the phone in his paw, “Just got a little piece of information I was looking for.” He pondered a thought before speaking up, “Say, Mom, you want to get some lunch? My treat? I need to pick up a few groceries too.”

“I’d love to have lunch with you sweetheart,” she said closing the pantry. “But I am coming to help you with those groceries.”

Both foxes stood there exchanging determined stares. Nick knew it was pointless to argue with her so he nodded and grabbed his keys and gestured to the door. 

* * *

Judy skipped down the hallway and soon found herself in front of Nick’s door again and knocked. She could hear a door closing and some light footsteps heading into the living room.

“Come in, Carrots!”

Smiling, she opened the door and entered. She paused while closing the door, Nick was wearing a shirt she’d never seen before. A solid dark navy collared shirt with the violet tie. It reminded her a little bit of his officer’s uniform. She really liked it.

She entered the living room where he was waiting, “Hey Nick! How was your day?”

“Not bad, till a few minutes ago,” he laughed.

“What? Why?” her ears came up and she raised both eyebrows in concern.

The fox walked over to the kitchen and began moving some cookware around, “Well, let’s just say I ruined some dish I was trying to cook before you arrived. I don’t think my Mom is going to be happy if she finds out about this. She stopped by earlier today and helped me buy the food.”

“Oh? Well, that’s okay. We could always go somewhere for dinner,” she suggested.

Her ears turned back to the door, hearing footsteps in the hallway before a different knock came to the door.

“No need… and just in time!” Nick said as he walked past her to get the door.

His pizza order had arrived. He tipped the delivery mammal and took the large box in his paw and brought it back to the kitchen counter. Opening the box, he took a nice whiff of the delicious aroma.

“One large, half bugs for me, half veggie for you,” he declared as he got some plates out.

“Mmm, that does smell good,” she took her usual seat at the breakfast bar.

“Bon Appetit,” the fox said as he handed her two slices and some water.

After dinner, they found themselves on the couch again. Nick noticed Judy was rotating her shoulders constantly and occasionally rubbing her right arm.

“Still sore?” he asked her.

“Yeah. I didn’t think it would still hurt this much. Carrying those boxes yesterday probably didn’t help.”

Nick glanced to the side in thought for a moment before daring a question, “May I?”

“May you what?” she asked. Her eyes curiously searching his.

“Turn around,” he stated while making a whirl motion with his left paw.

Judy shifted her position on the couch to face away from him. Her eyes widened, nose twitched, and she arched her back when she felt his much larger warm paws gently land on her shoulders and Nick began to rub her shoulders and arms in slow, methodical circular motions, using his paw pads to dig into her small tightened muscles and help loosen them. 

The bunny didn’t realize she was holding her breath but soon exhaled as she slowly began to completely relax and gradually leaned back into his paws. Whatever Nick was doing felt incredibly good and it melted her sudden trepidation away. Her eyelids and ears suddenly lowered in unison and her breathing slowed.

Picking up on her initial reaction, Nick had to ask, “Does this make you uncomfortable, Carrots? If so, I can stop.”

“No! No… don’t stop,” she ordered in a low voice.

“How many tickets did you write today?” he asked making small talk.

“A little over two hundred,” came the murmured reply. “I didn’t feel like overdoing it again.”

“Hah. That’s an understatement. That’s still double what Chief Buffalo-Butt usually expects,” he smirked while he moved his paws so he could use his thumb pads to dig in between her shoulder blades. Her short gray velvety fur felt so soft and fluffy to him.

Feeling so limber with all of her tension gone, Judy almost felt like completely closing her eyes to fall asleep in Nick’s paws as he moved his thumb pads up to her small lithe neck, causing her to crane it forward in response.

“Nick… where… did you learn how to do this?” her low voice sounded almost like a purr.

There was some silence while Nick hesitated to answer. He wanted to ignore or deflect her question, but found himself having a hard time doing so with Judy each new passing day. So he settled on a half-truth reply, “Well… let’s just say, I um… picked up a few tips from a… friend… who… runs their own hot springs spa in Tundratown.”

She smiled with closed eyes while leaning her head back further and brought up a paw, “Please tell me if I ever meet this friend so I can thank them!”

“Sure, Carrots…” he whispered while looking away with a pained expression.

He continued to ease her pain for several minutes before finishing. Judy suddenly felt so relaxed she wanted to just melt away into the cushions. Nick was leaning against the arm of the couch looking over in amusement. 

“Did you want to do anything tonight, Nick?” she asked with eyes closed.

“Actually… I got us a movie to watch,” he hopped down and walked over to the TV stand.

“Oh?” she opened her eyes to look at him.

Her partner turned around holding a DVD case like it was a trophy, “Look what I found today! Savage Seas! Looks like it's a sequel to that movie we saw. Seems like it came out this week and I got the last copy from the RedFur kiosk down the block while I was shopping.”

The bunny suddenly bounced in her seat, “Oh, Nick! That’s great! Do you have popcorn?”

“Yup. There’s some in the pantry.”

“I’ll make it,” she insisted and hopped into the kitchen.

Judy found the popcorn bowl in one of the lower kitchen cabinets and opened the pantry. She found the popcorn in one of the lower shelves. Before closing it, she looked around and noticed how everything she might like or could eat was all in the lower half within her reach. That was so thoughtful. Glancing over at Nick, he had the film ready to go and jumped back on the sofa. Smiling, she placed the popcorn in the microwave and soon returned to sit next to him with the bowl in her lap.

They sat mostly in silence with Nick occasionally making fun of certain action scenes or commenting on how stupid the villain seemed. The sequel definitely had more explosions and action scenes than the previous film. Judy had unknowingly scooted closer to Nick and was leaning fully against his side. Becoming aware of where she ended up, she really hoped it didn’t bother him. It felt so warm and comfortable. She fought a natural desire to want to put her paw on his leg. Nick pretended to be oblivious but secretly had a small smile on the corners of his snout.

They were nearing the end of the movie when a steamy and vivid romance scene began between Jack and Sky, who were the rabbit and vixen protagonists, in their submarine spy mobile. There was not much left to the imagination. The real fox and bunny suddenly became wide eyed and straightened in their seats as the new kind of action unfolded in front of them. Judy was so surprised that her ears shot up and one of them slapped Nick right on the nose, causing him to start and rub it gently. As the love scene continued they both craned their necks in unison to the side at what was happening onscreen, eyes wide, mouths agape.

Nick couldn’t stay quiet, “So that’s how rabbits…”

“Nick… not a word please…” Judy interrupted by slapping a paw onto his chest to shut him up as she blushed under her fur and her ears reddened. She didn’t realize her paw stayed there with an iron grip, scrunching up his shirt, her nose twitching, and her heart was racing.

After several more minutes, the scene ended, and the heroes were on their way to their final confrontation with the villain.

Neither of them said anything, each wondering what the other must be thinking, so Nick decided to break the ice, “So… that happened,” he tried to play it off casually but felt hot under his collar as he tugged on it.

Judy nervously chuckled while glancing at her partner, only to find herself holding that glance for several moments, before looking back at the TV. They finished watching in relative silence and once the ending credits were scrolling, Nick jumped off the couch. He needed a drink. Badly.

“Water?” he asked holding up a bottle.

“Please.”

Handing her a bottle, he also needed some air so he opened the sliding door to the patio and motioned for Judy to join him which she gladly did. Once outside, they leaned on the railing, letting the cool evening breeze brush against their fur.

The fox picked a new topic, “Do you have to work tomorrow?”

“Yeah. Bogo told me Delgato wasn’t feeling well after my shift, so he asked if I could come in and partner with Wolfard for the day. I also found out a few of my siblings may come up for the weekend on Saturday afternoon and they want me to show them the city.”

“Ah,” was his only reply. Nick’s thoughts drifted to his office. It would give him a chance to continue to work on his special project. “That should be fun.” He finished with a smile.

The bunny finished her bottle of water and held it up, “I better get going.”

“Sure thing.”

They stood at the open door, silent for a moment, when Judy spoke up, “I had a wonderful time again, Nick. I’ll let you know if any plans change, okay?”

“Sounds good, Carrots.”

His partner hopped up to grab his neck and pulled him down in a big hug. Nick was happy that the movie scene didn’t make her feel too weird around him tonight and released a mental sigh of relief.

“If I don’t see you this weekend, I’ll come by Monday after work, okay?” she whispered into his ear.

“You bet,” he replied with a smile.

“Okay. Goodnight, Slick,” she waved and made her way down the hall before looking back one more time.

Nick waved and watched her go. Once back inside he went straight to his office and stood in front of his desk. He rubbed his paws together and cracked his knuckles. “Alright, let’s get back to work.”


	8. Palm Hotel & Casino Royale - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick learns something from Judy's past, an old friend reappears, and their big undercover case is underway.

Judy’s thoughts were as bouncy as her steps as she carried a grocery bag up the six flights of stairs to Nick’s apartment. All throughout the past few days, flashes of that movie scene occasionally jumped to the forefront of her mind. A fox and a bunny together. Granted, it was just a movie, those were actors playing out a scene, and they were a buck and a vixen, not a doe and a tod. She didn’t know exactly what she had felt when she kept that lingering gaze towards Nick. They both hadn’t said a word about it after the fact. Perhaps she was just being silly and it was her imagination playing with her when she saw how Nick looked back at her before he bolted off the couch that night. 

She hadn’t seen him for three days since her siblings ended up staying an extra day and she was called in for additional shift at the station. Normally, she didn’t mind the extra work because she loved her job and the satisfaction she received from helping others never felt like a chore. Judy only wished she could have spent those days on the beat alongside her partner. Nick would finally be returning to work tomorrow from his suspension and this made her gleefully happy. 

The bunny reached the door and a mischievous smile formed on her muzzle. She took out the spare key that Nick gave her and decided to surprise him. Opening the door, she hopped in and made her entrance known, “Surprise Slick!”

However, there was no fox in the living room or the kitchen. Suddenly her ears turned towards the side wall when she heard what sounded like some swearing, some shuffling, a drawer being hastily shut, and her best friend emerging from his office while closing the door behind him.

“Hey, it’s Officer Fluff!” he exclaimed with a big grin while readjusting his tie. Today he was wearing his usual green shirt and his dad’s tie.

Judy raised a suspicious eyebrow and teased him, “Doing something sly back there, Nick?”

“Moi? Well, I do believe I’m innocent before proven guilty in a court of law, Officer,” he mockingly gestured with a paw in the air then changed the subject. “What’s in the bag?”

Rolling her eyes at his theatrics, she headed to the kitchen and set the grocery bag onto the counter, “I saw you had some baking cookware last time I was here, so I bought some ingredients for us to bake a pie together! I called my parents to see if they could ask Gideon Grey for his blueberry and rhubarb with vanilla pie recipes and he was happy to share. My brothers brought it with them when they came to visit. You get to pick which one we’ll make!”

Now it was Nick’s turn to eye her curiously, “You bake?”

“What? Think I can’t handle baking? You’re worried I’m gonna burn and ruin the pie?”

“I’m worried you might burn and ruin my new oven,” he paused to smirk. “And the whole building with it.”

She glared at Nick before launching herself at him. He saw it coming and tried to put the couch between himself and Judy. The two circled around a few times when the bunny simply jumped over the sofa in one hop, caught him, and gave him a light tap.

“No, no, no, ow… that’s not fair!” Nick rubbed his arm in exasperation. He needed to stop underestimating Judy’s bunny agility

“Life’s not fair, sweetheart,” she mocked him with the same phrase he used on her at the park on their first day of work together when Nick refused to share his middle name.

The fox chuckled as he followed the bunny back into the kitchen, “A bunch of your brothers came over, is that what you said?”

“That’s right. They didn’t tell me it was going to be a bachelor party until they were already here,” she said while unpacking the ingredients.

Nick was leaning against the counter and his ears perked up, “Whoa now. A bunny bachelor party? What’s that like? You all sit around getting drunk on carrot moonshine and then draw carrots on the muzzle of the poor rabbit getting hitched after he passes out while taking incriminating photos for the bride to be?”

Judy stared at the ceiling as she sighed and couldn’t help but laugh at Nick’s ridiculous assumption.

“Har. Har. No. They wanted to go out and have some fun in the city. We went to a few bars. I was basically their babysitter, making sure they didn’t overdo it and get into trouble. I teased them that I would arrest them if they did anything bad.”

“Sounding like a party pooper there, Carrots. You should have taken them to the Mystic Springs Oasis. Those boys would have gotten a real kick out of that,” he winked, making Judy shoot him another icy glare. Nick was tempted to start an internal glare counter for the night. He was already up to two and counting.

“No. And my brothers love me thank you very much. I actually get along with them better than my sisters. We played soccer all the time as kits. I thought it was a great way to stay in shape once I knew I wanted to be a police officer. I was even on the Bunnyburrow High School Doe’s Varsity team,” Judy smiled with pride.

“While I was sixth string and a benchwarmer on the track team.” Nick playfully wiggled an eyebrow at her, making Judy chuckle, as he reached over to grab the pie recipes, “So these recipes are from that fox who lives in Bunnyburrow? The one you went to school with?”

“Yup.”

“Seems like you have a thing for making friends with the mammals in red. We are irresistible after all,” he smirked.

The bunny broke eye contact for a moment with a chuckle but the subtle split second shift in body language and the ever slightly nervous laugh did not go unnoticed to Nick. His expression softened and he leaned closer. Normally, he would let it go but he felt compelled to prod further this time.

“Carrots? Did I say something wrong?”

Turning back to face him, Judy scanned his face with her eyes. Leave it to Nick to pick up on the smallest change in anything. She knew he could be incredibly observant and perceptive when he really wanted to be. “No. It’s just that… there is one thing I never shared with you.”

Nick straightened up and it was his turn to scan her face while he patiently waited for Judy to speak.

Taking a breath, Judy met his gaze before continuing, “Remember when I told you and your Mom how I knew I wanted to be a Police Officer by the time I was nine at the Carrots Day Festival school play?”

The fox nodded and gave her a small sincere smile.

Smiling back, Judy clasped her paws together, “Well, some of my classmates thought that was the dumbest thing they ever heard, especially Gideon Grey. It was the first time my parents found out about my big dream too. Imagine their shock. After the play was over, they tried to talk me out of it. While they were encouraging me to be a carrot farmer, I saw a few of my friends heading away from the fair with prize tickets. Then I saw Gideon and his ferret friend, Travis, follow them. I got suspicious and snuck away to keep an eye on them.”

“Starting your career early, I see,” Nick quietly teased.

Judy smirked for a moment. “I caught up to them as Gideon bullied my friends and took their tickets. I stepped in to stop him and demanded he give those tickets back. He didn’t take too kindly to me standing up to him so he shoved me to the ground while he and Travis laughed. I was scared for a moment but then I kicked him in the face. He attacked me with his claws, slashed my left cheek, and shoved my face into the dirt. Told me I was never going to be anything more than a ‘stupid carrot-farming dumb bunny’ and left. I managed to steal the tickets back while he was taunting and hovering over me.”

The bunny looked back up to her partner. Nick didn’t realize he was holding his breath for awhile and exhaled. His eyes were wide and mouth slightly open, mixed expressions of shock, sadness, and anger passed through his face. Judy could see he was struggling with his thoughts. It was a rare sight to see Nick Wilde so speechless.

Still at a loss for words, Nick slowly raised his right paw and reached over to Judy. She let him gingerly brush his finger pads across her left cheek where he could feel the remnants of the three claw marks hidden underneath her soft gray fur.

The fox finally found his words seething with disgust, “How could anyone do that to you? This explains so much. No wonder you had that fox repellent...”

Watching his ears flatten and his expression sour at the thought of another fox attacking her, she quickly grabbed his paw with both of hers and held it, “No, no, Nick. I should have never taken it with me. I thought I had gotten over it at the time but maybe subconsciously I never did. My dad gave it to me because he was so concerned when I was leaving for Zootopia and I took it so he would stop worrying. But that’s no excuse. I should have thrown it away.”

“I’m surprised you never told me. And now we’re baking this jerk’s pies? Why?” a rare moment of rage briefly flared up in Nick’s voice.

She squeezed his paw in the hopes of calming him, “It’s not like I never wanted to tell you, Nick. It just… never came up? You know… I actually bumped into Gideon three months after the Missing Mammal press conference, after I had quit the ZPD and went back to Bunnyburrow, at our roadside produce stand. He sincerely apologized for everything he had said and done back then. And I forgave him.” Judy began to gently brush his paw with her own while smiling. “Would you believe that it was because of him and my parents, I made the real connection about what Nighthowlers really were? He happened to mention that’s what his family called the plants since my Dad actually used them to keep bugs away from the crops. Once I knew, I immediately drove back to the city looking for you.”

Nick looked away, letting his anger slowly evaporate. He closed his eyes and sighed. Dwelling on the past wasn’t going to get them anywhere. Part of him still wished he had known what happened earlier. Perhaps he would not have stormed out of the press conference. It wasn’t becoming of him to let all this show how much it was getting to him. He let it go.

“Okay Carrots. If you forgave him, then I won’t say anything more,” he quietly replied with downcast eyes.

Judy released his paw, moved closer, and wrapped her paws around his waist and hugged him.

Nick moved his paws behind her back and returned the squeeze, “This better be one hell of a rhubarb pie or I’m driving to the burrows myself and making him eat it.”

His partner laughed into his shirt and squeezed him once more before letting go. Judy was glad to hear the humor return and looked up, “Sounds like we’re making rhubarb pie with vanilla!”

* * *

Two hours later, despite both of their best efforts, they somehow managed to ruin the pie. Judy was disappointed. They were eating what they could salvage. It wasn’t completely terrible. Maybe a little. She eyed Nick, waiting for the onslaught of ‘a country bunny who can’t cook’ jokes but they never came. He was sitting next to her, chin on one paw, humoring her by eating the pie quietly. His portion was layered in extra vanilla to help cover some of the burnt after taste.

“Well, I guess we won’t be going on any cooking shows anytime soon,” he quipped while giving her a half-lidded smirk after swallowing another bite.

“Next time we’ll get it right,” she chuckled in between chews.

“As long as we aren’t actually practicing to burn the place down. Arson gets you three years in the slammer.”

This earned him another glare and a tap on the shoulder which he took in stride. Luckily, Nick had a bunch of snacks stocked in his pantry, so they were able to eat their fill and not starve for the night. 

Later in the evening, the bunny found herself sitting on the couch replying to some family texts on her phone while Nick was in the kitchen cleaning up their baking mess. She had insisted on helping but Nick would have none of it and scooted her away much to her chagrin. Judy decided to fire up their word game. It was her turn in the final round. Nick was still in the lead. She furrowed her brows in determination for one last word play. She had five letters left and scanned the board for the best scoring opportunity. After several minutes of brainstorming, she almost felt defeated, when at the last moment she saw a word she could extend into a double point tile. Judy bit her lip, entered four letters, and hit the accept button. The game played a music chime as she scored seventy-eight points and the victory jingle sounded off.

“YES!” she whooped as she literally jumped several feet into the air off the cushion with a victorious fist pump.

Nick’s ears twitched as he turned around to see what the commotion was about when his own phone beeped and diverted his attention back to the device. Picking it up, his eyes grew into saucers, and he had to laugh while gesturing into the air with his free arm. Leave it to Judy to be the first mammal to best him by three whole measly points. “WHIZBANG, huh? Well, Officer Fluff, I am impressed. You outfoxed a fox.”

She scampered over, saving a screenshot of her victory on her phone, “See Slick, looks like I ended up on top.” she taunted with the slightest hint of a sultry tone and a teasing scowl while pointing an accusatory finger at him. “Don’t think I wasn’t aware of your innuendos when we started playing.”

He eyed Judy while scratching his chin and tried to play it cool. Nick raised his paws pretending to lift an imaginary crown off his head and placed it on the top of hers, “And announcing our new champion, Jude the Gude!”

“Hey! Don’t call me that… wait, Gude?” she paused.

Nick winked before returning to wash the last set of dishes while she pondered the word he just said. She looked up words that could rhyme with Jude and found it, “Clever fox.”

The rest of the evening passed by with the two of them watching a Paw and Order marathon on TV. Nick couldn’t understand how Judy never got tired of anything cop or crime related, though, it did seem to make sense considering how passionate she was about being a police officer. At some point Nick nodded off and woke up later staring at his ceiling. The living room was dark with nothing but the TV light illuminating the space. Stretching his neck forward off the back of the sofa, he glanced at the clock, and nearly started when he saw the time. 2:26AM. Then he suddenly became acutely aware of a small weight on his lap. 

His partner had also fallen asleep and she was using his right leg as a pillow. At least this wasn’t as bad as accidently being used as a personal body pillow so many weeks ago. Nick slowly slid off the couch while cradling her head onto the cushion. He gently nudged at her shoulder and whispered, “Carrots. C’mon, it’s late…wake up, sleeping bunny… Carrots!”

All he got in return was a shift to her other side and a small groan. Judy was out like a rock. Not having too many days off to rest lately, she must have been really exhausted. Scratching his ears, Nick contemplated what to do. He felt bad about trying to wake her but he didn’t want to leave her on the couch either. Even if he let her sleep here, her police uniform was back at her apartment. After a moment, the fox leaned down to gently scoop up the bunny and carried her into his room. It was amazing that she didn’t wake up. Once she was tucked in, he quietly grabbed a bunch of spare blankets and a pillow and headed back to the living room. His couch was large enough to become a makeshift bed.

Seeing her phone and keys on the counter, another idea popped into Nick’s head. Grabbing the keys, he decided to head over to her apartment and pick up her uniform and bring it here so she could get her rest. Hopefully, she didn’t think this gesture would be weird with him going inside her apartment without her. Once outside, the early morning air was chilly but refreshing as the quiet sounds of the sleeping city lulled him into a peaceful state of mind as he sauntered north down the sidewalk with paws in his pockets.

Returning back home over an hour later, Nick silently hung Judy’s uniform over the office door and tossed a pillow and the spare blankets onto the couch. Nick lay there with arms crossed behind his head, staring at the ceiling, thinking about what Judy shared earlier in the afternoon. Sighing, his thoughts meandered on how the two of them shared a similar experience at practically the same age, even though it was eight years apart. He allowed his experience to taint his personal and world view and lead him down a negative road in life. Judy used her experience to further fuel her dream through stubbornness and determination and kept pushing forward. Meanwhile, he was the one who had stumbled backwards and fell. Despite being a predator and twice her size, she was really the strong one. The one who hadn’t let others get to her, the right way.

A half grin formed on his snout. What a funny turn of events, that he fulfilled his old Junior Ranger Scout oath twenty-five years later, through a chance meeting with a country bunny girl from the burrows, and becoming a police officer. Stretching his crossed arms out one last time, he placed his paws across his stomach and closed his eyes.

* * *

It was approaching 5:30AM, when Judy’s biological clock tugged her violet eyes open and she raised herself up onto her paws. She was in a very large bed. A non-rickety, comfortable, and soft bed. Her ears perked up and her nose began to twitch as she took in her surroundings before her mind could catch up. She was still in Nick’s apartment and sleeping in his bed. The bunny threw the covers off and bolted for the door. The rising sunshine through the window informed her it was still very early in the morning and she remembered her uniform was back at home. And where was Nick? 

Swinging the door wide open, the bunny was greeted with two unexpected sights. First, she saw her uniform hanging off a clothes hanger from the open office door to her left, and to her right, was Nick, completely curled into a ball, dozing on the couch. 

“Oh…,” Judy smiled, her paw finding its way over her heart. Nick had gone to get her officer’s uniform and moved her over to his bed. She thought that was so sweet of him.

Judy tip toed over to him. She leaned over to look at his sleeping face. He looked so calm with traces of a small smile tucking away at the back of his lips. His deepened breathes created a very low sort of rumbling growl. Instinct should have made her scared of that sound but instead she found it endearing. 

The bunny reached out to gently caress his right ear and quietly sung into it, “Nick. Nick, wake up, sleepy fox. You actually have to go to work today. Nick…”

“Ugh…” was the response she got as he stirred awake and let out a great big predatory yawn, following by smacking of his lips, and his eyes barely opened. Slowly scanning the room, his eyes soon settled on a pair of large violet irises just inches from his face.

“Whoa, Carrots!” he muttered as he practically jolted straight and soon found himself off the couch and onto the floor at her feet.

It took a lot of effort for Judy not to laugh at his reaction, “I’m so sorry Nick, I was trying to wake you gently.” She had kneeled over him and offered to help him up.

“I’m awake… I’m awake… thanks. Still better than one of those awful alarms,” he said as he took her paw and stood up and stretched.

“You went all the way to my place to get my uniform?”

He scratched the back of his neck, “Yeah, I hope you don’t mind. I tried to wake you, but I swear Carrots, I think you could sleep through the apocalypse.”

“Not at all. That was sweet of you, Nick,” she chuckled while hugging the fox. “Let me make you some coffee. We will finally be together on the beat again today!” Judy hopped excitedly into the kitchen.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Nick smirked as he sleepily headed into his room to change.

* * *

The two officers entered the large reception area of the ZPD to be greeted by an ecstatic Clawhauser. The bubbly cheetah was really happy to see Nick again. He was even happier when Nick produced a small box of donuts for him.

“Here you go big guy, thanks for the gifts,” he winked at a gasping Clawhauser while handing over the baked goods.

Clawhauser picked up on the plural use of the word and showed his appreciation, “Oh Nick, anytime buddy.” He immediately began to stuff his muzzle with the fresh pastries.

Judy and Nick entered the noisy bullpen which became even rowdier once Nick stepped in behind her. Several of the officers cheered and whistled for his return which he acknowledged with some winks and nods. They took their usual shared front row seat.

The bunny noticed that Higgins was standing by the podium this morning, going through some papers. Usually this meant something important might be going on. Chief Bogo’s silhouette soon appeared on the other side of the door.

“Atten-hut!” the hippo ordered as the Chief entered the room.

The bullpen began to chant, ”Hut! Hut! Hut!” as Bogo made his way to the podium and took the files from Higgins, who took his seat in the middle row, while the Chief silenced the room.

“Alright, that’s enough! I have a special annoucement to make this morning,” Bogo began.

“Don’t worry, I missed you too, Sir!” Nick jabbed in there.

Judy pawpalmed and was ready to smack Nick but ended up having to leave her paw over her mouth to keep herself from laughing too hard. The rest of the bullpen erupted in laughter and snickering.

Bogo narrowed his eyes at Nick and a vein popped on his forehead, “Wilde. You will shut it right now or you’ll be on parking duty for a month!”

Everyone quickly quieted down and waited for the Chief to continue, “This morning I received a call from an Agent with the Mammal Bureau of Investigation. Several of you have been requested to participate in a very important undercover mission. The following Officers will report to the conference room in one hour: Officers Fangmeyer, Wolfard, McHorn, Trunkaby, Hopps, and Wilde. We have another officer arriving from Precinct Two who will also be assisting in this mission. I will meet you all again at 9:30.”

The six officers exchanged glances while Chief Bogo finished handing out the day’s assignments to the rest of the bullpen and dismissed everyone. They all gathered in the lobby for a short time pondering what this secretive mission could be amongst themselves. After decided to take the opportunity to eat some extra breakfast in the breakroom, the small group was lounging around the conference room waiting for the hour to pass. Most of the gathered officers had also been there for the poker night fiasco, so Nick took the opportunity to thank them for the gift they bought him. 

Bogo arrived before the hour hit and called for everyone’s attention, “Alright. The officer from Precinct Two has just arrived. Allow me to introduce Officer Brian Ardwulf.” The buffalo moved away from the door frame to reveal a small gray timber wolf with amber eyes and a friendly smile.

Nick immediately removed his aviators and a huge grin formed on his snout, “Nose!?”

His former ZPA classmate saluted and came into the room, “Nick! Buddy! So good to see you again!”

The fox and wolf came together in a bro hug and patted each other on the shoulders. Nick crossed his arms and gestured to his buddy’s snout, “They trying to make this little op easier by having you sniff the bad guy out for us?”

“Hah. If only it would be that easy, right? Did they bring you to hustle the guy into pleading guilty?” Brian grinned. “That would make it even easier.”

The two shared a chuckle while Judy made her way next to Nick and glanced between the two predators. Nick placed a paw on Judy’s shoulder, “Brian, I’m sure you remember my partner, Officer Judy Hopps?”

“How could I not? She did give us our badges after all! Hi Judy, I heard a lot about you from Nick at the Academy,” he extended his paw towards the bunny.

Shaking his paw, Judy smiled. “Hi Brian! I remember you from the ceremony too. I didn’t realize you and Nick were friends!”

“Yup. Ol’ Red here kept eating all of my Grandma’s cookies because I was dumb enough to keep challenging him at our poker nights,” the timber wolf laughed.

Judy scowled at her partner, “Nick…”

Her partner pretended to look innocent and pointed back at Brian, “What? I gave him every chance to win them back!”

“It’s okay, Officer Hopps. It was all in good fun. He won them fair and square.”

“See!” Nick made sure to add in.

The bunny rolled her eyes and was about to ask Brian another question when Bogo interrupted the chatter, “Quiet down all of you. The Agent has arrived in the station. Take your seats.”

Everyone including Bogo took a seat in the front row. The conference room had better seating accommodations for mammals of all sizes. Brian sat next to Nick who was sitting next to Judy. The door opened once more and a brown horse with a dark mane entered the room and made his way to the front next to the large projection screen. He removed his hat and sunglasses, placing them onto a small table, alongside a large docket, and turned to face the room.

“Good morning, Officers, my name is Agent Edward Coltson. You have been recruited for a special joint undercover mission by the MBI and ZIA. Our target is a margay named Arthur Elliot Felisky.”

Despite paying acute attention, Nick’s mind wandered to the Savage movies, he and Judy watched recently upon hearing the words: MBI, ZIA, and undercover. Naturally, he was ready to make a snide remark, “So, do we get to have cool gadgets like exploding pens and x-ray goggles, Agent Colts? I’ve always wanted a car with ejection seats myself.”

The clydesdale paused from bewilderment and glared at the fox officer before turning to face Bogo, “Chief, would you please advise Officer Wilde to maintain his professionalism. Thank you.”

For the briefest of moments, Chief Bogo smiled, and then glared back at Coltson with arms crossed, “You recruited him, Agent Coltson. He’s your problem now. That includes the mouth that comes with him.”

The other officers were comically failing at keeping their snickering in check. Judy kept bouncing back and forth between glaring at Nick and having to curb her own laughter by biting her lower lip. Brian was amused, and not at all surprised, while using his paws to clamp his snout shut. Coltson, however, was not amused and stared at the fox one last time before turning around and reaching for his docket. Nick simply sat back with an elbow on his chair with his usual half lidded eyes and smug grin. The fox observed that Chief Bogo apparently did not like this agent at all which meant he didn’t like him either.

Clearing his throat, Coltson continued his brief, “As you see here, our target has a long list of suspected felonies ranging from insider trading and sabotage to several illegal underground businesses and investments.” The horse began to pass around copies of Felisky’s bio to every officer. “He is a very cunning and wealthy individual. Our continued successful covert operations at his businesses have nearly bankrupt him and put him in trouble with his investors, to whom he owes several millions. We have tracked his travels back here to Zootopia. The ZIA believe he will be staying at the Palm Hotel & Casino in Sahara Square and hosting a high-stakes poker tournament to attempt in recouping some of his losses.”

Judy raised a paw.

Coltson stopped for a moment and acknowledged her, “Yes, Officer Hopps?”

“Sir, if you know where he will be, can’t we just arrest him?”

“I wish it were so simple, Officer. Felisky is very good at keeping his own personal record looking squeaky clean while covering his tracks. He also has exceptional lawyers and political pull amongst several high ranking government officials. We need to put him up against a wall so that he is forced to surrender, plead guilty, and cooperate with us so that we can use his information to go after his investors and creditors.”

“Now this sounds like a good old fashioned hustle,” Nick interjected.

Agent Coltson didn’t even bother to look in Nick’s direction and spoke to the group, “You will all be attending his party with aliases and special attire that we have provided alongside several of our agents. We will work with the Hotel to provide you with cover jobs during the tournament. Officers Fangmeyer, McHorn, and Trunkaby will be acting as hotel security and provide additional muscle if the need arises. Officers Wolfard and Ardwulf will be our trackers. The two of you will be working the bar areas so you can always keep a visual on our target without him getting suspicious. You both came highly recommended by your precincts and aptitude tests for finding scents. And of course, we have Officers Hopps and Wilde, who will be dealing directly with our target.”

This time Nick raised a paw.

Closing his eyes and taking a breath, Coltson begrudgingly acknowledged the fox’s inquiry.

“Sir, do I get to be the good cop or the bad cop? I think I make a better good cop. You should see Officer Hopps when she’s angry. Perfect bad cop.”

Judy elbowed her partner in the ribs. Once again, the rest of the group had to fight back tears from breaking their professionalism due to Nick’s snark. Despite the fact that Bogo was secretly enjoying Nick harassing Coltson, he still stuck his face into his hooves. This fox was going to be the end of him one day.

Coltson strolled up to Nick and pointed a hoof at the fox, “Officer Wilde, if you weren’t an instrumental part of this operation, I would have you locked up to wipe that smug grin off your snout. Don’t think we haven’t learned about your past dealings before becoming a police officer.”

Nick wasn’t showing Coltson that he could get to him but decided to finally play nice and not say anymore silly commentary for the time being. 

“As I was saying… our margay is quite the card shark, but I have been informed, so is Officer Wilde. It will be up to him to beat our target at his own game.” The Agent began to pace back and forth in front of the fox and bunny while gesturing to them. “However, only special types of mammals appeal to his interests, that he allows in his presence. Which is why you two will be masquerading as a wealthy married couple who are up and coming entrepreneurs in the Zootopian food industry. We have created several shell accounts, distributors, suppliers, and businesses for your front.”

Silence fell upon the room and all eyes were on Nick and Judy who were now wide eyed and glancing at one another with mouths open. Judy’s nose was twitching while both of their ears perked skyward. Both mammals blushed under their fur. The room was suddenly feeling very hot. Chief Bogo was now harshly glaring at the clydesdale while Nick broke his own promise to stay silent, “Did you just say married couple?”

Now it was Coltson’s turn to be smug, “That’s correct Officer Wilde. A predator and prey couple. Very rare. A fox and a rabbit, who are often stereotyped by mammal society, showing that you can break cultural norms and seize opportunities. Just as you both have with your real careers. According to my reports, you both seem to have a very close rapport with one another, on and off duty, which I hate to admit, makes you perfect candidates for this part of the mission. Felisky will find you two intriguing and irresistible to not make your acquaintance.”

Pausing for a moment, Coltson gestured a hoof at them, “Naturally, you both will need to go through a bit of extensive make-up, especially you, Officer Hopps. You are too recognizable and well known here in Zootopia, but it won’t be an issue. Our staff is top notch in temporarily altering any mammal’s appearance.” This caused Nick and Judy to exchange another set of glances.

The agent turned around and removed the final set of documents from his docket and concluded, “Here are all of your new aliases along with information on your backstories. Study them well. Any slip ups could cost us this operation. We will hold another briefing before the mission in a few days.” He walked up and down the row, handing each officer their personal alias file. “I’ll be in touch with Chief Bogo to contact each of you directly as we prepare, especially you, Officers Hopps and Wilde. Thank you all in advance for your participation. Good day.”

Coltson gathered his materials, tipped his hat, and trotted out from the conference room. Once he disappeared the small group of mammals burst into chatter. 

Nick peeked at his new fake bio and raised an eyebrow. “Daniel Pawson? Great, I always did want to be a Dan,” he sarcastically drawled. “Seriously though, who comes up with these names? What did you get, Carrots?”

Judy was still reading over her bio before lowering it and looking at Nick, “Looks like I get to be… Elena Pawson.”

Brian chimed in with his alias, “And I’m… Nathaniel Howlton.”

The fox frowned, “No fair, you get a cooler name. Wanna trade?”

Before any further conversations could proceed, Bogo called everyone’s attention one last time, “You heard the Agent. Go home today and study your files. It goes without saying but do not disclose any of this information with family, friends, or any other officers. Report back here tomorrow for normal duty until we hear otherwise from Coltson. Dismissed!”

* * *

Nick and Judy were back at his apartment after making a pitstop at Judy’s place to pick up a few of her things. Before leaving the station, Nick procured a whiteboard and corkboard to bring home and turn his office into a study room for the mission. They both had changed back into their casual clothes. Judy was sitting on the edge of the work desk, feet dangling, with Nick’s laptop, relaying any additional public information she could find online about their suspect while Nick was jotting down the information on the whiteboard. The corkboard contained a few printed pictures of Felisky, along with doctored photos of the Pawson’s so-called fake food industry empire.

Looking at Felisky’s photos, Nick made an observation, “You know, I’ve never actually met a margay before. He looks like a mini-leopard with huge eyes to me.”

“Is that so Mr. Pawson? I thought you knew everybody,” Judy teased. “Or should I say Daniel? Dan? Danny? How about Danny-poo?”

“Ugh. How dare you. You are having way too much fun with this, Elena,” he made sure to stress her new name. “Should I add sweetheart to the end? Dear? How about honey? Oh, I know.. .honey bunny!”

“Hmm, no,” she replied with a sweetened glare. “So according to this, ‘Daniel’ your family started out as small time farmers in Deerbrooke County, expanded to real estate, and then decided to get into the global food industry. How nice, you get to be a country mammal just like me!”

“Yee-haw! Do I get to wear a cowboy hat with my suit? It’ll really sell the story.”

Judy really hated to admit how much her irritating partner could make her laugh as she guffawed at his commentary, “Nick… just stop.” Then she looked over at what he was doing.

Nick was now making some very poorly drawn bunny and fox stick figures with little hearts above them on the whiteboard. He looked over his shoulder, “Just getting into character, Carrots. So, what’s it say about my darling wife’s humble beginnings?”

Looking away for a moment, Judy could feel a blush coming on, his playfulness and hearing him say those words, were having such a surprise impact on her. She shook it off, picked up her fake bio, and scanned down the page.

“Looks like I… am still from Bunnyburrow, from a much smaller family, who are fruit farmers that sell their produce in the tri-burrows and the city. I went to Zootopia to study business, accounting, and marketing to help grow the family farm but still helped at the local roadside fruit stands, which is where you met me one day while scouring for new produce partners and apparently… swept me off my feet. Later, I also became your business partner and together, we expanded both of our family businesses into a new empire.”

“Is that right? Sounds like lazy writing to me. At least they got one part right. I am a lady’s mammal.” Nick mockingly grabbed his tie, he was wearing the violet one today, and pretended to adjust it. “You know what they say Carrots, once you go red… you never leave the bed!”

“Oh my god, Nick!” she rolled her eyes and playfully threw a spool of thread at him. “I hope you’ve never actually used that line on some poor girl.”

The fox put his paws up to block the thread and then took a bow for his corny pickup line, “First off, you still throw like a bunny. Secondly, this coming from the little bunny who once told me how good she is at multiplying,” he finished with a wink.

This earned him another flying spool which he ducked away from with a chuckle. A short moment of energized tension hung in the room as the two stared at one another with raised eyebrows. Nick was feeling a bit hot and decided to deflect the growing thoughts in the back of his mind by walking past Judy, gently squeezing the base of her left ear, and headed out to get something to drink. This caused her to furiously wave her paws to swat his larger one away and shifted her mood.

“Hey, where are you going?” she blinked as he disappeared into the living room.

“Small break. Getting a drink. Want one?” he asked from the fridge.

“Got any apple juice?”

“Yup. One apple juice coming right up!”

She hopped off the desk and joined him in the kitchen area where he handed her the juice. They both gulped their drinks down and felt refreshed.

“Hey Carrots, wanna go for a walk and stretch our legs a bit before we continue?”

“That sounds great, Nick. Let’s go!”

The fox grabbed his keys while the bunny followed him. He opened the door for her and the pair exited the building. They playfully bantered while walking down the busy and scenic Walnut Street.

* * *

The following day, Nick asked the other officers, including Brian, to come over to his apartment after their shifts so they could go over their mission information together. Nick also wanted to get some practice games in while he still had the chance.

Fangmeyer and Judy went out and brought back pizzas and beers for everyone to enjoy. The officers moved the couch and everyone was crouched or sitting indian-style around the large coffee table while Nick began to shuffle the deck.

Judy was sitting very close to Nick’s left so she could observe the game and see how he played. She never played any card games and was very curious to learn a little bit. Brian sat to Nick’s right, followed by Wolfard, McHorn, Trunkaby, and finally Fangmeyer, who was next to Judy.

“This brings back some nightmares,” Brian chuckled while taking a sip of his beer. “Thank goodness we’re just playing with these chips and not food… or money. My girlfriend would kill me.”

“You’re afraid of Wilde’s card game too, huh?” Fangmeyer asked while also gulping a drink.

“Now, now. This fox isn’t that scary,” Nick smiled while he finished masterfully shuffling the deck and turned to look at Judy. “Normally the mammal to my right would cut the deck, Carrots. But go ahead and do the honor tonight.”

She smiled and cut it right down the middle. Nick scooped up the deck and began to deal. Being the sly fox that he actually was, he still remembered all of their habits including Brian’s, and won the first game easily.

The officers laughed and shared some friendly grumbling at being stomped so handily right off the bat. Judy was pretty impressed at Nick’s cunning gameplay. She wondered why he hadn’t played poker professionally instead of hustling.

They began another round. The others tried real hard to mix up their tactics and sit as stone faced as they could but this strategy was only short-lived as Nick picked up on everything all over again halfway through and swept the second round.

Several more games were played and they all ended with the same result. Fangmeyer was the last one out on the sixth game. The tigress flicked her cards down and let herself roll onto her back on the floor while laughing, “There’s just no hope! We can’t beat Nick. Now I have to wonder how skilled that margay must be if they need someone like Wilde to take him down.”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, Steph. You did great.” Nick said while reshuffling again and playfully took out what looked like a giant carrot pen and waved it in front of Fangmeyer. “Though would you mind repeating that first bit again?”

“Oh stop it,” Judy piped up and stole her pen back from him. “Your ego is big enough as it is, Slick.”

“Shall we briefly go over our new names and occupations one last time?” Nick suggested.

Everyone nodded their heads and Brian raised his paw first, “I will be Nathaniel Howlton and they have me assigned as a bartender. I used to bartend at nights during college, so it makes sense.”

Wolfard went next, “Marcus Eyolf, I’ll be next to Brian as one of the cocktail servers.”

McHorn cracked his knuckles, “Eddie Hornsworth. They put me on security at the main entrance.”

Francine waved her trunk in the air, “Leslie Ivorick. Looks like they’ll have me as one of the security guards stationed by the room where this poker tournament will be hosted.

Fangmeyer rolled back up off the floor and gestured to herself, “I get to be Felicia Tiggsky. I’ll be near the main room as well with Francine. Though, you’re right Nick, who comes up with these terrible names?”

Nick winked at Fangmeyer and put on a paw on Judy’s shoulder while he gestured between the both of them, “And we get to be Daniel and Elena Pawson. Sly food barons, millennial entrepreneurs, and ridiculously good looking mammals.”

The room snickered while Nick leaned back on his arm with a smug grin looking to Judy who rolled her eyes at him. They all shared a few more laughs and drinks before heading out for the evening once it became late.

Judy was helping Nick clean up once their co-workers left. The bunny remembered that thought she had earlier and looked up at her partner.

“Nick?”

“Hm?”

“Where did you learn to play poker like that?” she turned to face him while drying a glass.

“Finn and I used to run with this group of guys from Happytown that were quite the card sharks. Didn’t just learn about the mechanics of the game from them but how to read other mammals, verbally spar, and that the best hand doesn’t always win,” Nick answered.

“From the bluffing?” the bunny inquired.

“That’s right. You don’t always play your hand, Carrots, but the mammal across from you.”

“How come you didn’t play cards professionally instead of hustling? I’ve heard some of those champions take home some pretty good earnings,” Judy asked while putting the dry glass away.

“Because I’m a fox,” he replied casually while wiping a plate. “They always accuse me of cheating.”

Her ears instantly fell and intense fury began to bubble inside, “What? That’s not fair! How can they just assume that? You let me watch you play tonight and I know you don’t cheat.”

“That’s just how it is, Fluff. After awhile I just didn’t want to deal with it,” he answered with a reserved tone.

“What about online?” she pointed out.

“Same thing. Those leagues validate your information and still some mammal in charge assumes I’d find a way to game the system and they make any excuse to reject my entry.”

Judy grunted in disgust. She always knew about backward attitudes towards foxes, having been slightly guilty of them herself, but this really ached her heart. She reached up to put a paw on Nick’s arm. He looked down to smile at her before returning to the task at hand.

Soon they were done and it was time for her to leave as well. They both felt a little sad but kept their thoughts to themselves. The bunny was in the hallway while the fox leaned against his front door.

“You have a goodnight, ya hear, Mrs. Pawson,” Nick said with a terrible accent and tipped an invisible hat in her direction.

“You too, Mr. Pawson. Don’t get into any trouble with me,” Judy mock courtesied and then waved as she hopped down the stairs.

* * *

Several days passed. Judy and Nick spent the end of each day at his place relaxing and going over the details to keep everything fresh in their minds. They enjoyed one more night of cards with the other officers again. Nick cleaned house as usual and won every single match.

During their next shift with their cruiser finally restored, Bogo had them patrolling Downtown when Clawhauser radioed in.

“Dispatch to Z-240, come in Z-240. Over.”

Nick reached for the com, “Z-240. Wilde here, go ahead Claws.”

“Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, you are requested to return to the station for your special assignment preparations. Over.”

“Roger that, Dispatch. We are heading back. Wilde out.”

The two exchanged glances and Judy drove them back to headquarters.

The fox and bunny entered the lobby to see Agent Coltson waiting for them at the reception desk. Coltson removed his hat and nodded towards the two officers.

“Officers. This way please,” he ordered while motioning with his hoof for them to follow.

The trio went to the third floor and into a special meeting room. Chief Bogo was already waiting inside along with a group of mammals all dressed in gray suits. The cape buffalo stood when they entered and nodded to his officers who saluted back.

“Let’s get this started, shall we?” the agent said without wasting any time. “Today, my staff will be here to alter your appearances. If you please, they will start with your measurements.”

The staff quickly sprang into action and took the pair’s measurements. Nick was tempted to quip about his attendant’s measuring technique but decided to remain quiet.

A female cheetah came up to Judy and began to look her over, “Hello Officer Hopps. My name is Nina. I’ll be styling you today.”

“Hi Nina! It’s nice to meet you. You can call me Judy,” she said while giving her a small wave.

Nina smiled at the little bunny’s perkiness and kneeled in front of her, “Here is what we plan to do, Judy. I will be dying your fur, attaching a small hair wig, and giving you special contacts that will change the color of your eyes.”

“Yes Ma’am.”

“Excellent, this won’t take too long. Come with me,” the cheetah placed a paw on her shoulder and they went to an adjacent room followed by two more staff. Judy stole a glance at Nick and raised her eyebrows before they disappeared.

“So, do I have to get all modeled up too?” Nick asked the other staff that were still in the room.

Coltson was leaning against a nearby wall with arms crossed and answered, “Your alterations will be more simple Officer Wilde. You haven’t had the same public exposure as Officer Hopps.”

Before Nick could say anything else, a pig introduced himself, “Hello Officer, my name is Wilbur and I will be taking care of you.” He extended a hoof to the fox.

“Is that right? Alright, Wil, let’s go make me as pretty as Officer Hopps then,” he joked and returned the shake.

The pig laughed and escorted Nick to another room with his assistants.

After two hours, Nick emerged, from his styling room. His red fur was a few shades darker, he was wearing contacts that turned his irises into a more golden amber color, and they added a few tiny patches of gray here and there. He was told it would make him more distinguished and added character. Naturally, he quipped that it made him look too old, like he was now robbing the cradle, considering he was already a little bit older than Judy.

Bogo and Coltson both looked him over with amused expressions. Nick busied himself with his phone. Might as well take a few pictures as souvenirs for this little adventure. Another hour passed and the door to Judy’s room opened and the bunny stepped out. Everyone directed their eyes to the new Mrs. Elena Pawson. Judy’s gray fur was gone including her dark ear tips, replaced with a solid lighter tan and creme coloration. She was given a small wig of wavy white hair and her contacts turned her violet eyes to green.

Nick raised an eyebrow. He could tell it was still Judy but she certainly did look like a brand new bunny. She looked his way and raised her own eyebrow before turning to the whole room. “So, what do you guys think?”

Chief Bogo just nodded his approval, while Coltson spoke up, “I must say Nina did an excellent job. I can’t even recognize you, Officer Hopps. Looks like we are done here for today. Felisky set up his tournament for tomorrow evening. Tomorrow morning you’ll receive your formal attire and be outfitted with covert add-ons to wear beneath your clothes. Same for the other Officers. We shall go over final details and you will arrive at the Palm Hotel & Casino in the provided transport with your invitations. Have a good day Officers.” The agent nodded and let himself out.

“Alright, Hopps. Wilde. Go home and be rested for tomorrow. I’ll see you at the final briefing. Dismissed,” the Chief ordered and left the room.

The two thanked the rest of the staff and headed out of the building. Clawhauser nearly had kittens at the sight of their new make-overs and demanded they take some pictures together. As they approached the rotating door, Judy tapped Nick on the arm to get his attention.

“So Slick, you haven’t said anything yet. What do you think? How does Mrs. Pawson look to you?” Judy tried to strut a model pose for her pretend husband.

Nick feigned to be lost in deep thought, resting his chin in his paw, as a big grin formed on his snout, while he contemplated his answer. “Well, she looks okay,” he finally said.

Judy scoffed with both paws out, “Just okay?”

“Yup,” he said as he put a paw on the rotating door and was halfway through the exit without her when he leaned back, “I think Judy Hopps is way cuter.” His smirking face then slinked away into the exit.

The bunny blinked a few times at his answer and then ran after him, “Hey!...”

* * *

The morning came and all of the Officers were gathered back in the conference room, fitted in their undercover outfits. Brian and Wolfard were dressed in very nice formal bartender attire with black vests, slacks, white collared shirts and bowties. Francine, Fangmeyer, and McHorn were outfitted in the hotel’s official security uniforms. The stars of the show were the most glamorously decorated. Nick was dressed to kill in a tailored Predrioni dinner jacket with a button one front, grosgrain silk trimmed peak lapels, jetted pockets and no vents, along with matching dress pants and a black bow tie. He would have preferred a regular tie but didn’t argue with the fashion staff. 

Judy was sporting a beautifully elegant Camelli backless purple evening dress with a plunging neckline and it hugged her tightly in all the right places. A simple silvery diamond necklace adorned her lithe neck. She felt a little exposed and bashful with how much fur was showing. However, Francine and Fangmeyer were gushing over how gorgeous she looked. Even Nick couldn’t stop from constantly glancing her way every so often. Little did he know, Judy was occasionally stealing glances of her own towards him.

Coltson arrived for his pre-mission briefing along with several other MBI agents. He instructed the ZPD team that he will be leading and overseeing the operation remotely. After they had gone over the final details, the officers were outfitted with state-of-the-art mics and everyone was given specialized miniature tranquilizer guns. Judy had to strap hers along the inside of her leg to conceal it.

Hours later, Nick and Judy found themselves sitting in a fancy black limousine that was transporting them through Sahara Square on the way to the famous Palm Hotel & Casino. 

Judy was looking out the window when a sudden memory hit her as they passed a block she recognized, “Nick! This is where I caught you and Finnick melting that Jumbo Pop!” The bunny pointed to the roof of a two story adobe building.

He looked over and chuckled, “Did you now? I blame Finn for being a terrible lookout. You’d think with those ears of his, they’d be as good as yours.”

“Well, in retrospect, I’m glad I caught you, Mr. Pawpsicle hustler,” she smiled.

“Ex-pawpiscle hustler, Madam,” he pointed out. “Enjoying our fifteen minutes of fame, living like the rich and famous so far, Carrots?” he joked while playing with the expensive shot glasses next to him.

“Well, I don’t think it would be the life for me. I’m happy being a cop. But I won’t say ‘no’ to one night of glamour,” she replied while watching him play with the fancy cups. “You might want to be careful about calling me ‘Carrots’ in there, Nick.”

“Why? Did they change more than your fur color back there? Are you not a bunny anymore?” he winked. 

“Oh shush,” she replied by putting her paw to his snout and playfully shoving it away. “You have to be serious… oh my gosh, Nick, look!”

The fox and bunny looked ahead in awe to see the famous giant palm tree approaching as the limo carried them closer on the main strip that approached the hotel. The artificial jeweled palm sparkled magnificently in the night sky lit by several colorful spotlights from the large mammal made pond and park grounds that surround it. Judy looked around to see a flurry of nightlife activity with crowds of mammals going in and out of several shopping stores, entertainment venues, and fancy restaurants littered around the hotel strip.

Their limo pulled into the VIP drop off area, in front of the grand lobby, and a valet appeared to open their door. The elegantly dressed duo stepped out and took in the features of the richly designed oasis themed hotel. Several mammals were already turning their heads at the sight of this unusual pair.

Nick extended his elbow to his partner. She smiled and hooked her arm gracefully into his.

“Ready to hustle, Mr. Pawson?” she asked smiling to her partner.

“I was born ready, Mrs. Pawson. Let’s do this,” he flashed a devilish smirk. 

Both officers looked forward with determination and proceeded to enter the lobby with purpose in their steps. Nick narrowed his eyes and his smirk grew wider. This was going to be their biggest hustle yet. It was show time.


	9. Palm Hotel & Casino Royale - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The undercover poker tournament is underway at the Palm Hotel & Casino with Nick Wilde vs Arthur Elliot Felisky. However, their target has a special trick up his sleeve. How will Nick and Judy overcome this new obstacle to complete their mission?

Mr. and Mrs. Pawson entered into the main lobby through the revolving doors. McHorn was stationed by the entrance and nodded silently to his fellow officers. Nick walked with a swagger and smugness like he owned the place. Judy remained graceful but it was hard to contain the excitement inside of her as she scanned the beautiful interior of the Palm Hotel. The spacious kidney shaped lobby was richly decorated into an oasis paradise with several indoor ponds and streams, palm trees, grass patches, and luscious desert greenery. Swirling energetic patterns adorned the lobby walls and were lit from the inside to create a luminous eye catching effect. 

As they continued down the main walkway towards the reception desk, Judy looked to her right and saw a large colorful lounging area filled with well dressed mammals. Located behind that was a bar and restaurant that led to a dining balcony on the second floor. Her ears detected the melodious music of a grand piano being played above. To her left was a newstand and several small gift shops full of shoppers. 

Mammals of all kinds went bustling and chattering about their business around them, ranging from tourists and vacationers, business executives and conference attendees, casino gamblers, and those looking for a simple weekend getaway in the spa and resort offerings of the hotel. Several of these same mammals were craning their necks and casting all manners of stares at this unorthodox yet classy looking couple as they walked by. 

Judy, in particular, was getting her fair share of ogling from a handful of passersby. Unknownst to her, the fox noticed one particular rabbit guest was leering so unbridledly at his partner, that Nick decided to have some fun and went out of his way to make direct eye contact with the rabbit, smirk, and mouth the words, “Yeah, she’s with me pal,” while pointing a thumb to himself. The salty buck returned a vicious glare while Nick just winked back.

They arrived at the large circular reception desk that engulfed a giant heavily branched tree decorated with hanging lights and released soothing waterfalls from the base of its trunk in every cardinal direction into a small moat behind the hotel staff. While waiting in line, Judy tugged on Nick’s arm to get his attention.

“Yes Dear?” he whispered in character and leaned over.

“So, Daniel… Clawhauser shared with me that Gazelle has a personal suite here in the hotel and that it takes up the entire top floor,” she whispered this trivia to him.

“Claws would know that, wouldn’t he?” the fox chuckled.

The bunny also laughed and then asked, “The hotel is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Classy. Just how I like my women,” he smiled at his pretend wife.

“Don’t you start already, Slick!” she whispered back with a mock smirk. Secretly, a part of Judy enjoyed that small bit of Nick’s sometimes flirty nature.

Soon they were standing at the front of the line and a well dressed giraffe greeted them from behind the desk, “Good evening. How may I help you Sir and Madam?”

Nick reached into his suit and handed over their special invitations. The giraffe scanned the documents, “Ah. Yes, of course, Mr. and Mrs. Pawson. We are delighted to have you here with us tonight. Please take the elevator behind the reception desk up to the second floor. Ballroom number two. It will be on your right down the hall.” The receptionist handed the invitations back to Nick.

“Thank you my good Mammal,” Nick replied with a courteous nod and escorted Judy behind the desk and towards the small orbicular glass elevator. 

They briefly waited till they could take the elevator alone. As they ascended, Coltson radioed in through their concealed MBI issued earpieces. “Very good, Officers. We have eyes on you. Remember that you will need to mingle with Felisky and pique his interest so that he offers you a seat in his game. We have an agent on standby with your buy-in. The rest will be up to you Officer Wilde. Do not lose.”

The fox and bunny shared a side glance, while Nick raised an eyebrow and smirked towards the lobby down below. “No pressure,” he drawled.

“I know you can do this Nick,” Judy said giving his paw a quick squeeze and a beaming smile while she smoothened out a small wrinkle on his suit.

Looking down at those warm and reassuring eyes, Nick felt a surge of confidence, and smiled back. The elevator arrived on the second floor and the pair stepped out.

Instead of hooking her arm back into Nick’s, Judy reached out and held his paw instead. Judy could feel so much warmth from Nick’s larger paw pads. Nick was playing it cool but couldn’t focus on anything else but how velvety and soft her petite paw felt tonight. It wasn’t the first time their paws touched but somehow, in this moment, it felt entirely different. He fought back the natural urge to want to brush his thumb pad along the top of it.

They passed Ballroom One and a private spa room. Judy peeked inside the spa room to see a large crescent shaped moss floor parlour filled with several different scaled bathtubs, indoor ponds, and a fur dryer that used rotating rolls. A private elevator was located in the back. There was an elephant-sized gazebo bed with its own salt lick and fruit basket that lead to another balcony with an outdoor pool and a telescope mounted on the patio railing. It looked like an amazing place to spend a day she thought.

Making their way further down the hall, they reached the entrance to Ballroom Two where Fangmeyer and Trunkaby were posted in their fake hotel security uniforms alongside a few other hotel staff. Subtle nods were exchanged and a hotel employee asked for their invitations at the door. Nick handed them over once again. The employee nodded, opened the large wooden double doors, and stepped aside.

Mr. and Mrs. Pawson stepped inside and made their entrance.

* * *

Nick looked around nonchalantly as if this was just another fancy party for Mr. Pawson. Ballroom Two was an elegant and spacious elliptical chamber that opened into a patterned luxurious white marble dance floor surrounded with several organic curved nooks and cubbies that housed different recreational and serving stations. Hanging palm themed chandeliers softly lit the room with a warm and inviting atmosphere. To their right, they saw the modern designed bar stocked with very expensive alcohol. Brian was already behind the counter mixing drinks and handing them off to Wolfard who delivered them to the expectant guests. The smaller wolf and fox’s eyes briefly met to acknowledge each other and Brian continued his mixing.

Behind the bar, lining the wall, were several lounging booths built to accommodate mammals of all different sizes. A few well dressed guests already occupied some of the seats, socializing and drinking away the time. Behind them was a small hallway that led to the restrooms. Across from the booths along the far wall was the card playing table with ten adjustable seats. It looked exquisitely crafted and maintained. Further along the wall was a private elevator door. The room ended with another set of booths and a food station. Most of the mammals in the room were gathered there with fancy drinks and hors d'oeuvres in paw. Nick assumed he would be the only fox at this gathering but he was surprised to see there were no rabbits present other than Judy.

Wolfard appeared next to Nick and Judy with two drinks on his server tray that Brian had prepared for them. The fox nodded and took both drinks, handing the smaller one to Judy. Nick’s drink was a blueberry mojito while Judy’s was a virgin piña colada. She was thankful that Brian made hers nonalcoholic. 

“Mr. and Mrs. Pawson,” Wolfard greeted and then leaned in to whisper. “He’s at the far end entertaining some guests by the food station.”

“Thank you Marcus,” Nick replied without having to look at his nametag and took a sip of his drink. He slipped Wolfard a tip to keep up appearances. “Please give my regards to the bartender for a splendid drink.”

“My pleasure, Sir. Madam,” he replied properly and returned to the bar.

The duo turned back to the far food station and finally saw their target. He was hidden amongst a few of the larger guests and came into view as some of them parted to get more refreshments. Felisky was a small, slim, lithe feline, with brown fur marked with numerous rows of black rosettes and longitudinal streaks with piercing blue eyes. The margay was not much taller than Judy. His suit was in similar fashion to Nick’s and he wore an expensive Pawlex watch on his right wrist and held a glass of red wine in his left paw. Nick and Judy held paws again and walked towards Felisky.

As he gossiped enthusiastically, the margay couldn’t help but notice the unique couple approaching him from the corner of his eye. Excusing himself, he met the fox and bunny halfway, followed by three much larger mammals, a tiger, lion, and polar bear who they presumed were bodyguards.

“Good evening to you both. I do not believe we have had the pleasure of introductions,” the feline extended his paw to the fox first. He spoke articulately with a soft exotic accent. “Arthur Elliot Felisky.”

Nick released Judy’s paw and gave the margay a hearty pawshake. “Pleasure is all mine, Mr. Felisky. Daniel Pawson. And my lovely wife, Elena Pawson,” he replied in his friendly, smooth, and silky ex-con voice.

Felisky turned to fully face Judy with quite the charming smile, “If I may be so bold, Mrs. Pawson, you look absolutely exquisite.” He briefly took her free paw and kissed the top of it. “Mr. Pawson is a very lucky mammal.”

It was hard to hold back the blushes at such words from both Nick and Arthur but Judy graciously nodded, “Thank you, Mr. Felisky. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

The feline smiled with a small bow, “Please, call me Arthur. I must say, I have never met a predator and prey couple before. You must tell me about yourselves. I would love to hear how you two met.”

Judy bit the inside of her lower lip. She and Nick devised a fairly loose backstory on how they met and just how exactly ‘Daniel’ managed to sweep ‘Elena’ off her feet. The bunny wasn’t expecting their target to ask about that topic right away. Before Judy could even look to Nick, her partner was not skipping any beats, and already answering the question. Nicholas P. Wilde was now in his element.

“Of course, Arthur. A great story that… you see, Elena and I...” Nick gestured to Judy and himself, “are actually from Bunnyburrow and Deerbrooke County. Both of our families started as small time farmers. When I took over my family’s farm, after my parents passed away, I dreamt of expanding it and began to dabble in real estate to earn more profit on the side to accelerate its growth. My goal was to be able to provide all the mammals of the tri-burrows and the city of Zootopia with quality food.”

Nick took a sip of his drink before continuing, “One day, I was driving through Bunnyburrow and visiting several farms, looking for new business partners, when I drove by a local fruit stand...” Nick turned to look directly at Judy for the full effect, “where I saw the most beautiful mammal I’d ever seen in my life. I immediately yelled at my driver to pull over.”

Both Judy and Arthur were listening intently. Nick’s charisma, tone of voice, and his disarming smile were truly selling the story. The way her partner looked into her eyes, sent a small shiver through the bunny. His acting was on point and it caused her to feel genuinely flushed. Judy smiled back with sparkling half lidded eyes.

The fox turned back to their feline target, “So, I approached the fruit stand and introduced myself, only to be enamored again, when I was greeted by such a warm and irresistible smile. I asked her if she would come have lunch with me. I was rejected, not because I was a fox, but because she had to stay and run the family fruit stand. However, I wouldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. I simply asked her, how much for all the fruit that she needed to sell. After a moment, she actually gave me a number, so I paid double that. Then I asked her if she was available to join me now. She said yes. So, my driver and I loaded all the fruit, and I took Elena to her favorite restaurant.”

Felisky enjoyed a hearty chuckle from the turn of events in Nick’s little fairy tale.

Judy now spoke up, following Nick’s lead, to help finish selling the story with her own beaming gaze to Nick, “It’s true Arthur. I was not expecting such a grand gesture just so this stubborn fox could spend an hour with me,” she giggled and leaned closer to him. “We clicked right away. That single hour turned into the entire day. After Daniel sampled some of our organically grown fruit that he purchased, he insisted that our family farms become partners. He offered to expand our farm and we would be his new primary fruit providers.”

“You should try their blueberries,” Nick made a kissing gesture to the ceiling, “they are to die for!” Pausing for a moment, he added one last touch, “After we began to work together, I learned Elena had gone to Zootopia to study business, accounting, and marketing, so I offered her to be my business partner. Most mammals don’t take kindly to working with a fox. Without her, I could never have achieved my success alone, and the rest is history…”

The margay watched the couple share another glance, “Such a marvelous story of love and triumph. My family is from the far South. I too know the struggles of having little and working tirelessly against oppressive cultural views to prove oneself. We smaller mammals have always endured an uphill struggle.” He gestured with his own drink.

“I’m happy to see that you have done well for yourself too, Arthur. This is a lovely gathering,” Judy complimented.

“Thank you, Elena,” Felisky answered. 

Before the smaller feline could say more, an attendant came by, placed a paw on his shoulder, and whispered into his ear. Felisky said something back and waved his subordinate away. A few moments of silence followed and Judy observed that Felisky seemed to be sizing up Nick with a lingering gaze while casting a curious smile towards her partner.

“It would appear that one of my esteemed guests regrettably canceled her invitation this evening,” he finally said to Nick. “Mr. Pawson, could I interest you in a game of Hold’em? I have an available seat now at my private tournament tonight. The buy-in is twenty million dollars.”

It took considerable effort for Judy to not cough or become wide eyed at the mention of twenty million dollars. Nick, on the other hand, made a smirk as if this was pocket change to Mr. Pawson.

“I would be delighted, Arthur.”

“Excellent. We will begin in one hour. If you would be so kind, you may prepare your buy-in with Mr. Camille, the camel in the red vest, by the playing table. He will take care of you,” Felisky informed and pointed with his drink to the mammal in question.

“Thank you. I’ll do just that. See you at the game,” Nick nodded.

The margay watched the couple head back towards the table with continued interest. A small well dressed female capybara appeared next to Felisky and patiently awaited his attention.

“Maria,” he greeted. “Were you able to check on our unique new guests?”

The small secretary leaned over, “Yes, Mr. Felisky. The Pawsons check out. It would seem Mr. Pawson is of considerable new wealth. I have never known a fox to be so successful, Sir.”

“And most thought the same of a margay, my dear. Still, I am very intrigued by both of them,” He swished his expensive red wine around in his paw. “Let us see how our Mr. Pawson handles himself at the table. Perhaps after the game, he may become a new asset in our business network,” Felisky mused and stole one last glance towards the fox and bunny before waving the capybara away.

“Yes Sir,” she replied and left to continue her tasks.

As the Pawsons approached the table, they were greeted by a well dressed mammal who identified himself as Mr. Pawson’s financial keeper. Nick nodded and the undercover MBI agent followed him to speak with Mr. Camille to stake his buy-in for the tournament. Once Nick’s seat was secured, he and Judy took the opportunity to mentally prepare for their task at a nearby booth. 

Leaning back in the booth and finishing his mojito, Nick's eyes wandered around the card table area, looking at the mammals nearby, trying to spot the ones he might be playing against shortly. Judy on the other hand, was looking at Nick, watching him concentrate on his own thoughts. She smiled to herself. Her partner and best friend, the clever hustler, working his craft.

The bunny's ears perked at the sound of the classical music that quietly played in the ballroom and she turned her head to watch several mammals slow dancing on the marble dance floor. Judy always loved to dance, from any dancing events at school, to all the Bunnyburrow hoedowns and shindigs, and bunny weddings she had attended. It reminded her of how much fun she had dancing with Nick at the Gazelle Unity concert. A part of her didn't want to interupt his musings but the other part wanted to help Nick relax with a little bit of fun before the game. An opportunity to be so formally dressed and in such lavish surroundings may never happen again.

"Oh, Daniel?" she called for his attention in a sweet tone while in character.

"Yes, Dear?" he answered turning his gaze away from the table and towards her.

"Would you have this dance?" she asked with lidded eyes and held her paw out.

"Did you already forget how terrible I am at dancing from the concert?" he smiled while trying to deflect her request.

"Don't be like that! Besides, it'll really sell the story. After all, you didn't get to wear your cowboy hat," she teased him.

Nick chuckled and whispered back. "Hah. Taking notes I see. Aren't you the master apprentice, Fluff?"

Judy wasn't budging. She simply closed and opened her paw a few times in rapid succession, gesturing for him to take it, "I did learn from the best. Or maybe the worst!"

The fox made a mock exasperation of a wounded heart but finally relented with a sigh and gently took her paw and lead her out of the booth and onto the dance floor. They clasped paws and Nick placed his other paw on the small of her back, while Judy hooked her other arm along his taller arm and shoulder. Their height difference did make it slightly comical but the two managed to move and sway gracefully to the sounds of a classical waltz.

"It feels like I'm dancing with your torso," the bunny laughed while whispering up to his chin.

"Well, you are a cute short bunny. Just don't step on my tail this time," Nick teased her by swishing his tail around to lightly brush up against her side.

This earned him a light thump on the shin. Judy peered up at him with a lidded mock scowl and a small smile on her muzzle, "Don't call me cute! And maybe you should learn to keep that thing in it's place."

"What can I say? It has a mind of its own," he whispered back.

They both laughed and continued to move around in comfortable silence.

Wolfard came up to the bar while Brian was shaking a drink in his mixer. The smaller gray timberwolf looked across the ballroom to see his old classmate dancing with his partner and smiled.

"You see it too, huh?" Wolfard asked while peeking back over his shoulder.

"Yeah. I can 'perceive' it," Brian replied with a cryptic choice of words and an amused grin.

The darker timberwolf chuckled. "I hear you." He pretended to scratch his chin while tapping a finger to his nose. "It's funny they don't seem to."

Brian loaded up Wolfard's server tray with the latest orders and he left to deliver them. Soon the hour was up and the players began to take their seats.

Coltson spoke up again through the mic, “Everyone is in position and standing by. Bring him in, Wilde.”

“You got it, Colts,” he quietly replied knowing that Coltson hated that nickname.

Judy gave him a good luck hug, smiled, and whispered into his ear, “Go get him, Slick.” Then she departed his side to watch the game from the allowed spectator’s area. 

Nick took a seat directly across from Felisky while a staff member delivered his chips. It was game on.

* * *

Another camel in a stylish black collared shirt and Palm Hotel & Casino vest took his spot at the Dealer’s seat and began to shuffle the cards. The seven other players at the table were a variety of dapper mammals that included a koala, who sat on the Dealer’s left, followed by a moose, ewe, zebra, panda, Nick, cheetah, and even a female rodent, before ending at Felisky who was seated to the right of the Dealer. Several of the players shot disapproving glances at Nick. He expected it. He knew what their eyes were saying.

Ignoring them with his usual smug smirk, the fox looked around the table making initial observations about their attire and body language. The panda looked very relaxed, his chips sloppily arranged, while the cheetah seemed high strung. The ewe looked to be disinterested in general. The impatient looking koala appeared to be lost in thought rearranging his chips, while the zebra, moose, and rodent appeared very eager to begin. Their hooves and paws flexing near their chips. Glancing back over at his main opponent seated across the table, he observed Felisky casually thumbing a chip clockwise in his paw while gracefully leaning on his elbow. The margay’s chips were meticulously stacked.

Nick made his own nice stack of chips in front of him. Leaning forward on his right arm, he would occasionally, though consistently, drum his claws on the table. One of his few strategies to look casual and fake a tell of his own. He was very adept at maintaining his usual foxy smug smirk which often made him hard to read, applying his own creed of ‘never let them see that they get to you’ on each hand played.

The Dealer signaled for everyone’s attention and spoke up to announce the start of the game, “Good evening Ladies and Gentlemammals. Tonight’s game is no limit Hold’em, five communal cards, two in the hole, small blinds start at ten thousand. We will begin.”

The small blind began with the koala, while the moose got the big blind of twenty thousand. The dealer dealt the first round of cards beginning with the ewe going clockwise, followed by the second round. Nick didn’t bother to check his cards yet. He subtly scanned the table looking for any early signs or tells as the other players checked their cards. No reactions from any of the mammals. The zebra and the cheetah folded. Putting his right paw over his cards, Nick took the opportunity now to check them by lifting the edges. A King of Diamonds and a Three of Spades. Memorizing his cards, he decided not to fold and called to keep his hand in play.

Everyone else also called and the dealer proceeded to discard a burn card and then slid the Flop, three face-up communal cards, onto the table. There was a pair of Kings, Heart and Spades, and a Queen of Hearts. Not bothering to look at the Flop yet, Nick was spying his fellow players once again.

The first potential tell came from the ewe as Nick noticed she began to pluck some of her wool from behind her cards and then raised the bet.

“Forty thousand,” she said while sliding her chips over.

Without checking his cards again, the panda who was sitting with his arms crossed on the table, called the ewe’s raise. Nick called as well, while drumming his claws, so he could continue his observations. Glancing over at the small rodent to his left, she didn’t give any noticeable signs yet and called. Finally, it was Felisky’s turn. He was still flipping the same chip in his paw and also called. The fox noticed the margay watching him closely as well. The koala and moose also called the ewe’s bet.

Burning another card and then placing the fourth card, the Turn, the Dealer revealed a Six of Hearts. He waited for the players to make their next moves. This round the ewe checked, however the panda raised, “Sixty thousand,” he softly announced after what Nick perceived to be a barely discernable eye twitch. 

Nick continued to drum, deciding to raise, to test reactions, “Eighty thousand.”

A tiny ear flapped and the rodent player called, “Eighty thousand.” The fox took note of the gesture.

Felisky remained neutral but raised the bet, “One hundred thousand.”

The koala quietly rearranged his cards and called, something the fox took note of. The moose held his cards tightly and called. Another possible hint, Nick thought. Coming back around to the ewe, panda, Nick, and the rodent, all four of them called again.

With the final burn card being discarded, the Dealer dealt the River, showing the last communal card, a Two of Clubs. All the mammal’s eyes were on the final card except for Nick and Felisky who momentarily caught each other’s gaze.

The ewe checked by knocking on the table. The panda raised to one hundred twenty thousand. That twitch was there again. Nick called it and so did the rodent. With eyes on Felisky again, he detected what appeared to be the slightest tug of a lip curl. The margay tried to play it off by simply leaning on his paw and looking thoughtful.

“Two hundred thousand,” Felisky raised.

The moose, ewe, and koala folded this time. The panda, followed by Nick, and the rodent called. No more raises and everyone checked. Finally, the fox looked at the five communal cards on the table. Nick suspected there may be a Full House or two amongst the remaining other three players. 

The rodent revealed a Ten and Jack of Hearts, giving her a Flush. The panda spread his cards to reveal a pair of Queens, Spade and Clubs each, giving him the Full House and a better hand over the rodent. Nick just smirked and tossed his cards showing his King of Diamonds and a Three of Spades. He only had Three of a Kind. The panda was still in the lead. All eyes settled on Felisky, who halted thumbing his chip, and casually flipped his cards over. The fourth King and Queen cards of the deck. The other possible Full House. It was stronger than the panda’s hand, King’s high over Queens. The first pot of the evening went to Arthur Elliot Felisky.

“Well played, my friends,” he complimented the table.

The panda had a slight look of disappointment and huffed.

Nick glanced over and decided to make some small chit chat of his own, “You had a good hand there. Tough deal in the end, huh big guy?”

His commentary was unwanted as the larger mammal turned his head with a look of contempt, “Keep your mouth and your eyes to yourself fox.” He stressed the word ‘fox’ as if it was a slur.

All eyes at the table now flicked to the fox and panda. Mr. Pawson kept his perfect composure and just smiled back. Judy, who was watching from a short distance behind Nick, was able to listen to all the table chatter, scowled and shot the panda a vicious glare. If they weren’t on duty and undercover, she would have walked over and given that chubby mammal a piece of her mind.

Felisky directed his attention to the panda, “Mr. Chanda, please, I rather appreciate my guest’s affable demeanor.” His eyes narrowed and ears slightly flattened. “Please apologize to Mr. Pawson for your crass manners.”

Judy’s ears twitched. Something was different about how the margay spoke those particular words to the panda. The bunny couldn’t understand why. She blinked away the confusion to look back at the table.

For a brief second, the panda also blinked, then he turned to face Nick with a somewhat blank daze, “Mr. Pawson, I apologize for my behavior. Please forgive me.” Mr. Chanda bowed and he turned back to his chips.

Nick barely raised an eyebrow but maintained his smirk and a friendly tone, “No apology necessary, Mr. Chanda. Let’s get back to the game, shall we?”

“Yes, indeed.” Felisky answered for him.

Glancing back over again, Nick noticed the panda seemed to be sitting in a small moment of confusion before leaning back over the table, ready to continue playing. His words felt hollow and insincere. Nick shrugged it off for now and directed his attention back to the game.

The blinds moved over and the next round began. The fox continued his strategy, slowly bleeding chips by staying in till the River, to pick up on all the tells, signs, and patterns he could catch, several of which began to repeat themselves depending on good hands or bluffs.

The ewe played with her wool or looked bored. The zebra had a double glance or a lip bite. His favorite panda pal had his eye twitch or poked his sloppy chips. The cheetah had a whisker twitch or would bet nervously with a good hand. The rodent tried to conceal a subtle tail swish or an ear flap. The koala would rearrange his cards from top to bottom or adjust his neck tie. The moose liked to hold his cards tightly or his nostrils would slightly flare. 

Nick also picked up on the smaller prey animals being more aggressive, as if the game gave them the rush to feel like a predator at the table, particularly the ewe and the rodent. The panda enjoyed taking risks as well. Felisky, on the other hand, was the most difficult to read. His lip curl didn’t seem to offer much since he repeated it on good hands and folds and he was always playing with a chip in his left paw.

After forty minutes of observation, his opponents must of thought of Mr. Pawson as a newbie, easy money on the table, ripe for the picking. They weren’t the only ones who entertained this thought.

Coltson’s irritated and brash voice came through the specialized hidden earpiece again, “Wilde. I’ve been told you haven’t won a single hand yet and you’re just losing our money. I’m warning you fox, you better step up and show it wasn’t a mistake to recruit you for this mission.”

All Nick could do was ignore the clydesdale. Knowing her partner couldn’t answer and defend himself, Judy found herself scowling once again. She excused herself from the onlooking crowd and headed to the Ladies room. Stepping inside, the bunny checked that no other mammals were present before quietly speaking into her concealed mic.

“Agent Coltson, this is Officer Hopps, Officer Wilde knows what he’s doing. He has a strategy. I’ve witnessed him do it a couple times myself. He will win. You need to trust him, Sir,” she said with a very stern tone.

The fox smiled when he heard her words. To his surprise, Judy wasn’t the only one to speak up. 

“I concur with Officer Hopps, Sir. I’ve seen Officer Wilde play as well,” Brian said as he ducked behind the bar pretending to look for a glass.

Their only reply was a snort followed by an unconvinced tone, “That’s enough chatter. Get back to your positions.”

Judy shook her head, exited the restroom, and returned to her place in the crowd to watch Nick and Felisky. Another hour passed. Nick was down a cool six million from his twenty million stake but he was feeling confident. The fox noticed the same patterns with the raising, folding, and bluffs of the other players. While he still wasn’t one hundred percent certain about Felisky, he did notice the feline becoming much more chatty with all of the players at the table. No matter for Nick, it was time to go in. 

The following round had Nick against the rodent on the River. The pot was eight hundred thousand. The fox had seen the tail swish. She laid down her cards. Two pair, Aces over Jacks. Nick had three Tens. He collected his win. 

Judy smiled and did a small thumbs up. Wolfard shared a glance with her as he dropped off a fresh drink. Brian was mixing another drink and curled a half smile. They all knew what was coming and internally cheered for their fellow officer.

The ewe was looking bored. Too bored. She made a bet. Nick doubled it to call her bluff. She folded and he took the win. Felisky kept his eyes on Nick with a small lip curl while playing with his favorite chip. The fox just smiled back.

The fox’s favorite buddy, the panda, casually poked at his chips. Quite casually. Nick responded in kind with a triple raise. The panda had nothing. He beat his bluff. Nick enjoyed a stretch to peek around the room and locked eyes with his pretend wife. Judy smiled and Nick winked back. 

Felisky leaned back in his chair feeling rather amused with Mr. Pawson’s sudden change of luck, “It would appear that Madam Luck is finally smiling your way, Mr. Pawson.”

“I am married to a bunny. That’s double the lucky rabbit feet, Arthur,” Nick quipped back.

Judy heard him and rolled her eyes.

Nick drummed his claws and raised on the next hand after the koala adjusted his necktie. Another bluff. Another fold. Another win. Smiling as he added the chips to his stack, he had nothing but didn’t show his cards to conceal his own bluff. The fox was gaining his money back quickly.

Another test. Nick began to drum his fingers early and watched everyone fold. It was almost comical to him. Casually looking to his opponent across the table, Felisky’s energy gave a vibe that he was rather not so enthusiastic anymore about having a real challenger at his table. Nevertheless, the margay smiled in Nick’s direction once again and returned his eyes back to the new hand being dealt.

Now Nick was pitted against the moose who was holding his cards tightly. The fox saw this tell several times earlier tonight. More bluffing. To his credit, the moose became brave and refused to back down when Nick doubled his bet. In the end, the fox still took the moose’s hand. Four of a Kind beating Two Pairs.

With twitchy whiskers, the high strung cheetah raised on the Turn. Everyone folded. Nick called. He tried to raise again on the River. Nick drummed his claws and doubled the bet. His cheetah opponent folded his bluff and the fox took the pot again.

Now the zebra was staring him down. Nick saw the ever so subtle lip bite. Another bluffer trying to pull one over him. Everyone else folded already. He got him to the Turn and Nick managed to get him to raise some more before tripling his bet. The zebra angrily folded.

The Dealer called for a short fifteen minute break. The nine mammals at the table got up to stretch or get more drinks. Many of them walked away with sideway glares at their fox opponent. Nick loudly drummed his claws on the table one last time to rub it in, stood with his usual smirk, and sauntered over to join his lovely ‘wife’ waiting in the crowd.

Judy gave him a hug and whispered a tease in his ear, “I knew you’d start turning it around, Danny-poo.”

“Ugh. Didn’t we agree we weren’t going to be one of ‘those’ couples, Honey Bunny?” he shot back.

They both snickered and enjoyed the moment of levity together.

“I still haven’t gotten a full read on our Mr. Felisky. I’ll admit, he’s good at hiding his moves,” Nick said looking back towards the table.

“Then it’s a good thing we brought a sly fox to the poker table. Don’t worry, I don’t think he has anything on you either,” she reassured him. 

“Well, I will take that vote of confidence, see Nathaniel for a drink, and get back to it,” he gestured with his snout.

Judy nodded, squeezed his paw, and watched him go.

* * *

Back at the table, all of the players returned to their seats, and resumed the game. Nick got a bad hand and decided to fold right away so he could watch Felisky more closely. This hand came down to the margay and the rodent. He saw the tiny ear flap which meant she had a potentially strong hand. Felisky was doing his usual chip thumbing. They both raised the bets substantially on the Flop causing everyone else to fold. Once the Turn was played, the rodent went all-in but Felisky called it. Then came the River. After looking at both opponents, Nick checked the cards. A pair of Aces and a Seven, Eight, and Nine of Hearts. A possible Four of a Kind or a Straight Flush was in play.

Before the rodent could show her hand, the margay addressed her in a direct pleasant tone, “Mrs. Ratowski, you did a marvelous bluff, my dear. I kindly thank you for playing tonight.”

There was a moment’s hesitation, a blank stare, she folded, nodded, and left the table. Judy’s ears twitched again and she brought up a paw to her forehead. She kept her eyes trained on the floor before recovering her senses. 

Everyone at the table watched the rodent walk away except for Nick who had a lot of trouble keeping his expression neutral. He was shocked. While Felisky collected his sizable pot, Nick tried to see the rodent’s cards when the Dealer collected them. The fox managed to catch a glimpse of a Ten and Jack of hearts. She had the Straight Flush. There was absolutely no reason for her to fold that winning hand at the very end like that with everything on the line. His eyes darted back to Felisky who was casually smiling.

The remaining eight players continued to play their hands. Nick watched as the koala lost a sizable pot to Felisky and the small mammal was eliminated from the game. Judy felt another strange sensation listening from the crowd. She had a growing concern while Nick’s confusion continued to linger.

After a few more rounds, Nick had a fantastic lucky hand with his own early Straight Flush. It came down to Felisky and himself with six million total in the pot. Judging from the cards on the Turn, even if Felisky had a possible Straight Flush of his own, Nick would have the higher hand. Just as the River was played, the margay locked eyes with him and directed his voice to the fox.

“Mr. Pawson, surely you jest. Kindly withdraw that foolish bluff,” Felisky smiled with a dismissive gesture.

Again, Judy’s mind felt a skip. She shook her head once more and immediately looked at her partner. Nick had just about flipped his winning hand over when he hesitated for a long moment. The bunny saw him fold. Judy’s jaw dropped.

Everything went blank for that singular moment as if time had stopped. The fox saw his cards in his hand. Nick was in motion to show them and then nothing. When he blinked, his cards were already folded on the table and the pot was taken away. He just lost several million dollars. What in the hell he thought to himself unable to hide his wide eyes. Nick did his best to regain his composure and smirk but he returned a subtle hard stare to the feline across the table.

“Better luck next time, my friend,” was the margay’s response.

Nick simply stayed quiet as if nothing happened, nodded, and was ready to go again. Now was not the time to let his opponent know he got to him. He won several more hands and was able to eliminate the cheetah himself. Now six players remained: the moose, ewe, zebra, panda, Mr. Pawson, and Felisky.

Time passed as more hands were played. Getting another bad hand, Nick decided to not risk bluffing this round and folded immediately to sit back and once again observe the feline. They were the only two predators at the table now. Watching the ewe, the fox knew she had a bad hand from her tell and she was playing an aggressive bluff. Felisky was staying in and raising as well. Nick wondered if she might be able to take this hand away from him by making him back down. There was almost four million in the pot. Little did Nick know he was about to be mistaken again.

The margay turned to chat with the ewe, bearing a predatory smile on his muzzle, “Mrs. Ramsey, let us make this more exciting, shall we? Let us raise the stakes by going all-in and show our hands.”

Placing his arm on the table, Nick pretended to lean on it so he could place his paw over his snout to cover his pursed mouth. He knew this couldn’t be good. In the corner of his eye, he now noticed Judy, who looked light headed. Nick saw her long ears twitch and she appeared to place a paw on her forehead. Instinct made him want to leave the table and go to her but he couldn’t. He forced himself to divert his eyes back to the game.

The ewe slid all of her remaining chips into the pot and Felisky matched her raise. Now there was over twelve million on the line. Their cards were laid out onto the table. She really was bluffing and had a weak hand. The margay took the pot with just Two Pairs, Aces high over Jacks.

Glances were exchanged. Nick very slowly exhaled through his nose as he watched the ewe stand up with a short blank look on her face before it transformed to shock. She looked positively crushed. Taking a curt bow, she left the table without a word.

Nick decided to try something on the next hand. Before the hands were dealt, he pretended to stretch and placed his paw inside his suit jacket to roll his left shoulder. As the round commenced, he raised just enough to make the zebra and moose fold so that only himself, Felisky, and the panda remained. The two predators locked eyes waiting for the River. Within his field of vision, Nick could see he lucked out and had a very strong Four of a Kind, Aces high. No one raised and it was time to show their hands. Once again before he could show his hand, the feline addressed him and it made him pause.

“Mr. Pawson, please fold your hand. It is not befitting of a mammal of your caliber to feign such a ruse.”

It happened again. After a moment, Nick found himself staring down at his folded cards in front of him. There was no holding back the look of shock and anger on his face. Felisky’s hand beat the panda’s and he took the win. The fox found himself getting dangerously low on chips as he watched the pot move over to the margay’s growing stack of chips. The fox reached back into his inner suit pocket.

Judy recovered once again. Her own frustrations and confusion gripped her emotions. She looked up at Nick and noticed his expression and knew what just happened. The bunny saw his pain and felt it too.

Without warning, Coltson’s angry voice came through the mic, “Wilde! What in the hell is going on? I should have known it was a mistake to bring you in.”

Taking a deep breath, Judy immediately moved with purpose from the crowd, walking right up to Nick, placed a paw on his arm, and leaned over to him, “Sweetheart, you look like you need a break. Join me for a few minutes?” Her sweet voice sounded full of need and she made sure to smile politely to Felisky that she desired her husband’s attention.

Before Nick could speak, the feline replied with a grin of his own, “Yes. I concur with Mrs. Pawson. We have been playing for some time. Let us enjoy an intermission. One hour.”

The Dealer along with the moose, zebra, and panda nodded and gladly took the break. Felisky stood and left to mingle with the crowd, while keeping at eye on the fox and rabbit. Nick shook himself and let Judy guide him outside of the ballroom and down the hallway. She found an empty balcony where they could have some privacy.

“Wilde, answer me, fox. Are you able to beat him or not?” Coltson demanded.

“I can beat him, Colts! I had two winning hands earlier but… I don’t know what the hell happened? He started speaking to me and the next thing I knew… I had folded my cards. It doesn’t make any sense! There’s something going on…” was all Nick could muster in frustration while he angrily waved his paws in the air.

“What do you mean something is going on?”

“He’s right, Sir. I can barely hear it. It’s something in his voice. I can’t really explain it… but sometimes when he speaks, I can feel it in my mind, it’s...” Judy supplied.

Coltson interrupted Judy’s explanation, “You two better get your acts together or I will…”

Suddenly Coltson cut out with a loud shuffle and angry shouting could be heard in the background. An unexpected but welcome voice bellowed through their earpieces.

“That’s enough, Agent Coltson! If my Officers suspect something, then you should have every reason to believe them. Hopps. Wilde. If something is going on, figure it out, and bring his mammal down. I know you can do it. Clear your heads and get back to it.”

Judy smiled, “Yes, Chief Bogo. We will, Sir.” The bunny turned to her partner. “Nick, what do you think? Is there anything you can do to ignore him?”

The fox leaned over the railing, “I’m not sure, Carrots. I could try to shove some plugs into my ears but I need to hear what’s going on at the table too. Plus it might look too suspicious to him.”

“You’re probably right.”

“Hold on, let’s see if we can hear how he does it.” He paused and reached into his suit pocket and took out Judy’s carrot pen.

“You brought my pen?” she asked mildly amused.

“The pen is mightier than the badge, Fluff.” he wiggled it in front of her. Nick looked around to make sure they were still alone before activating the rewind function and playing back the last hand.

The bunny smiled with a dramatic eyeroll, returned her gaze to the pen, and listened intently.

“Mr. Pawson, please fold your hand. It is not befitting of a mammal of your caliber to feign such a ruse.”

She looked at Nick and shrugged. He didn’t feel anything either and played it back again.

“Mr. Pawson, please fold your hand. It is not befitting of a mammal of your caliber to feign such a ruse.”

His partner sighed, tapping a paw on her chin, “Nothing. Looks like it doesn’t work through a recording. There’s a very subtle shift in his vocal tone when he’s doing it. I don’t hear it now.”

Leaning back against the rail, Nick let out a sigh, “Well, I guess I should be thankful I’m not fighting an urge to fold some cards every time we play it back. Though listening to it again, he sure sounds so snooty saying it.”

After a moment of thinking, he turned back to Judy, “Wait… I only saw him using it on one mammal at a time so far. And never back to back either. When I was watching him speak to that ewe, I noticed you looked like you heard it too, and had a paw on your forehead. You’re able to tell every time he does it?”

“Yes. I feel a strange sensation every single time.”

The fox formed a half smile, “I didn’t see anyone else picking up on it and there’s no other bunnies here but you. It has to be your hearing then.”

“Wait! Nick, what if… I warn you every time he’s doing it through the mic? I can sit in one of those booths near the table so he doesn’t see me talking or signaling to you. I should still be able to hear everything from there,” Judy suggested with a small bounce.

“That’s a great idea! However… I’m not sure a warning will help if I’m the one on the receiving end,” he frowned.

“No…” the bunny narrowed her eyes in thought and then smiled, “But what if I can give you something else to focus on! Like if you listened to my voice instead?”

Nick afforded himself a joke at this point and smirked, “Are you trying to tell me you have me wrapped around your little finger, Mrs. Pawson?”

Judy was about to naturally protest but caught herself and gave it right back to him with a pointed finger, “Maybe you should be, Mr. Pawson.”

“Meany wife.”

“Clueless husband.”

There was a brief pause before they laughed at the absurdity of their last quips. 

“Alright, Carrots. Let’s get you into the closest booth and go from there,” he said.

The bunny smiled and nodded in agreement, only to raise an eyebrow a moment later, as she watched Nick shove his paw into his right pocket and pull out his handkerchief with a bunch of Hopps Farm blueberries wrapped inside. He tossed a few back into his mouth before offering some to his partner.

“Seriously Nick? I don’t know whether to be more surprised that you brought those with you or that there were even anymore left.”

“Are you saying I have no self control? Wow. You’re on a roll tonight,” he smirked with a cheek full of blueberries.”

Her reply was a clean straight jab to his arm that any boxer would be proud of.

* * *

The intermission was quickly coming to a close. After informing the rest of the team of their plan, Mr. and Mrs. Pawson returned to the ballroom and headed over to the booths next to the bar. Unfortunately, all of the booths were occupied and they didn’t have much time. Nick spotted a single beaver sitting alone in the prime booth to put Judy in. 

“Wait here,” he told his pretend wife and sauntered over to the booth and hopped into the seat across from the mammal.

“Um… can I help you?” came the nervous greeting.

“Greetings, Sir. I just saw you sitting here all by your lonesome and wanted to say hello. Hello! My name is Daniel. But you can just call me Dan,” he said in an overly jovial tone that would make Clawhauser proud while leaning forward on an elbow.

“I..I..really would rather be left alone…”

“Don’t be like that, buddy. Can I call you buddy? It’s no fun enjoying a fine party such as this alone. Let me buy you a drink. One second.” Nick turned to get Wolfard’s attention with a wave. “Garcon!”

Wolfard raised an eyebrow and wondered what his co-worker was up to. He came over and greeted them.

“Hello again Marcus! I wanted to buy my new friend here a drink.” Nick turned to look at the beaver briefly, then back to Wolfard. “He looks like a fine wine kind of fella. How about your best red merlot, please?” 

The fox and wolf exchanged eye contact. Nick nodded and gestured with his eyes to the beaver and back. Wolfard smiled affirmatively. “Yes, Sir. One moment please.” He quickly left to get the drink.

“No. Really, please… just leave… Mister Dan…”

Nick ignored him and continued his harassment while reaching for his phone, “Have you ever been to the Mystic Springs Oasis? It’s one of my favorite spots here in Sahara Square! You’d love it. Here, let me show you a few pictures!”

“What!? No!”

Wolfard was back with the wine on his server tray and was about to place it on the table when Nick stopped him.

“Oh, allow me, please!” He took the glass and slid it to his new beaver pal only to ‘accidentally’ spill it all over his nice suit. “Oh, whoopsie! I am so sorry there buddy! Let me help you…”

“No. No. No. You’ve done enough!” The frustrated mammal immediately left the booth and waddled towards the restroom as quickly as he could.

It took all the willpower in the world for the fox’s three co-workers to hold in their laughter. Wolfard, clamped his snout shut as best he could and brought over a server rag, “Let me clean that up for you… Sir,” he drawled in between suppressed chuckles.

Poor Judy had her muzzle in both of her paws having seen and heard the entire exchange from where Nick left her. She bounced between glaring at him and genuinely fighting back tears. Even Brian had glanced over and saw what happened. The small gray timberwolf ducked behind the bar and chuckled into his arm to muffle his laughter.

Nick waved her over once Wolfard cleaned the table and he hopped out so she could take the seat.

“I can’t believe you, Daniel!” she loudly whispered at her partner. He could hear the mixed ire and amusement in her voice.

“Hey, I got the booth didn’t I, sweetheart?” he smirked and looked to the poker table. “Alright, looks like they are starting up again.”

Judy took a deep breath, “Okay. Let’s do this. Come here, crazy fox.”

The bunny reached over, tugged him closer, and hugged her partner. She smiled and he returned a wink before turning around to join the table. 

Wolfard came by again with two drinks. A new refreshment for Judy and a second alcoholic drink to give the ruse that the other empty seat in the booth is preoccupied. They exchanged nods and Judy turned her focus to the table.

Mr. Pawson returned to his seat and found Felisky already seated and acknowledging his presence with a bit of a smug grin of his own. That smugness only fueled his own as Nick smirked back. The fox was ready for round two.

The blinds were increased again. Small blind was now one hundred thousand and the big blind became two hundred thousand. Nick had already folded a bad start and was waiting. It didn’t take long before Felisky began his manipulation again. This time it was directed towards the panda. The fox had seen the eye twitch so he knew the panda held a good hand. Judy, sitting in her booth, shut her eyes while keeping her ears trained on the table. They twitched. She did her best to ignore the odd sensation and spoke into the mic.

“Nick!” her voice quietly caught his attention from the hidden earpiece. “He’s doing it again.”

“Mr. Chanda, would you please…”

Nick decided, in the heat of the moment, he was going to take every chance to throw the margay off his game. The fox knew the feline was trying to make the panda fold. He remembered how Felisky was appalled earlier by bad manners and crude behavior. “Hey, Mr. Chanda, wanna hear a bad joke?” he interrupted. “Which side of a cheetah has the most spots…? The outside!”

The lame joke was enough to break the intended redirect and caused the panda to show his hand properly by slamming it on the table first and glare at the fox next to him. Deep hatred and bad jokes to the rescue, Nick thought.

The Dealer checked the hands and the panda beat Felisky and took the large pot. Felisky was not pleased at all. He stopped thumbing the chip in his hand and scowled with flattened ears at Nick who winked back at the feline.

“Mr. Pawson…” he began.

“Nick! Listen to my voice… did I ever tell you that at my first day at the Academy I ‘died’ over forty times. I even fell into the toilet at the end of the day. The Drill Sergeant was using the next stall. ‘You’re dead, Fluff Butt’ she told me. That’s where I got the idea to use the toilet to escape from Cliffside when we were trapped in the cell there after you said we were dead…”

“You seem to be very excitable right now. It is very rude to interrupt a fellow Gentlemammal. Perhaps you need another break? You should take one now, my friend…”

Nothing. There was a long pause as Felisky eyed Mr. Pawson with a confused stare. The fox was not getting up from his seat. He merely sat there, eyes focused on nothing in particular in front of him, with a happy smug grin. 

Suddenly, Nick’s eyes flicked up and looked right at his opponent. “I’m good right here, Arthur. Thank you for your concern. However, I would love another drink. A nice hot cappuccino. You fellas want anything? It’s on me,” he asked the rest of the table while waving Wolfard over. 

The zebra, moose, and panda exchanged glances, took the offer, and began to order some drinks. Felisky sat back in mild shock becoming unsettled before narrowing his eyes and quietly growling.

“Yes! It worked!” Judy quietly eep’ed in her booth corner, brimming with joy. “We can do this!”

The tournament proceeded. Judy continued to talk to Nick each time she detected any hint of manipulation directed his way. She shared several stories about Bunnyburrow, ranging from her large room that she turned into a giant mock detective’s office to play pretend cop when she was younger, to the trouble some of her younger siblings always got into, the large family dining hall filled with many rotating dinner tables to continuously feed the entire Hopps clan all day long. He even got to learn a little bit about farming and plant husbandry. 

When she couldn’t think of something to say right away, she simply hummed a sweet lullaby that her Mom used to sing to her when she was a baby rabbit. The same melodious tune she would hear being sung to her younger siblings as she grew older. Nick wished he was able to tell her how much he really enjoyed hearing her hum the lullaby. 

Hands continued to be played into the night. Felisky was bleeding money now back to his opponents without being able to rely on his trickery any longer. Nick aggressively disrupted every attempt to sway the other players with bad jokes and foolish behavior. 

“Why do skunks argue a lot…? Because they like to raise a stink,” was a line that saved the moose’s hand.

“What's big and gray and protects you from the rain…? An umbrellaphant,” Nick assisted his panda buddy again.

“What do you call a show full of lions…? The mane event,” in defense of the zebra.

Emotions began to flair and the margay played a few sloppy hands before recomposing himself. Nick gained a substantial amount of money back and even managed to knock the zebra out on a daring all-in bluff. Only four players remained: the fox, margay, panda, and moose. 

Having a harder time quelling his anger, the margay had begun to look around the ballroom and noticed that Mrs. Pawson had been absent from her usual place in the crowd. Most of the evening she had been behind her husband and cheering him on. This had given him a rather enjoyable sight to occasionally admire. He pretended to stare at the bar when he noticed her alone in a booth from the corner of his eye, her head slightly turned to the side, eyes closed, and ears up. 

Judy’s poor voice was getting a bit hoarse and dry but the bunny endured. Wolfard began to bring her plenty of water to help. Felisky decided to get some water as well. Wolfard had been walking by with a fresh tray of refreshments when the margay abruptly called to him, “Marcus, would you kindly hand me that glass of water.”

It made the timberwolf stop for a moment before turning around and handing the water, that belonged to some other mammal, to the feline. “You may go now.” He was dismissed with a paw wave. Taking a long gulp, within his field of vision, he saw Mrs. Pawson’s ears twitch and she fidgeted. His mind grew curious.

* * *

Soon, the wealth was redistributed enough that while Felisky still held the largest pot, Nick was right behind him, followed by the panda, and finally the moose. One hundred eighty million dollars was sitting between them. Felisky tried another command and was thwarted by Nick yet again. However, this time he kept Judy in the corner of his eye and saw her ears twitch again, followed by her lips moving as if she was talking to herself. 

After a third confirmation when he tried to sway the panda and Nick had piped up with another colorful comment to anger the panda, he wondered if Mr. Pawson was somehow getting aid from his darling bunny wife. But he didn’t know how. The smug fox hadn’t been looking her way at all nor could the margay spy any sort of hearing aid in the fox’s larger ears. He wasn’t able to hear any evidence either.

The next hand began and Nick was the big blind while the panda had the small blind. The Flop was placed on the table: Ace of Diamonds, Eight of Hearts, and Ten of Hearts.

The moose checked his cards. He held a King and Queen of Hearts. The panda lifted his cards to reveal a pair of Tens, Spades and Clubs. Giving him an immediate Three of a Kind. Felisky and Nick eye one another before checking their hands. The feline had an Ace of Spades and Eight of Diamonds. Two Pair. Nick thumbed his cards, peeked, and placed them back down.

“Sixteen million,” Felisky raised.

There is a moment of silence and everyone matched. The Dealer put down the Turn. A Six of Hearts. Nick saw the moose check his cards.

The moose’s nostrils barely flared, “All-in.” Adding in his full thirty-two million dollars.

Everyone matched again. Now the Dealer lay the River, the final community card. The Ace of Hearts. The fox simply stared at Felisky before glancing down at the River, deducing two possible Full Houses and a Flush. Felisky suddenly waved one of his bodyguards over, the tiger, and whispered something into his ear before the larger feline disappeared back into the crowd behind Nick. He wondered if Judy picked up what was said but nothing came in through his com.

Nick saw the panda’s eye twitch, noticed him looking confident, and put all of his chips in, “Forty million.”

“Forty million,” Nick called.

Felisky flipped his chip around in his paw and paused at his turn.

Judy sat patiently waiting. Her hearing let her know that this hand could be the last one. There was already one hundred fifty-two million in the pot. She breathed slowly with her eyes closed. A shadow suddenly appeared through her lidded eyes and her nose twitched at the presence of another mammal. The bunny opened her eyes and looked to her left to see a well dressed tiger standing in front of the booth with both paws behind his back and a smile on his muzzle. She recognized him as one of Felisky’s three bodyguards.

“Is this seat taken, Miss?” he asked gesturing to the empty booth while ignoring the other glass of alcohol across from Judy.

“Actually, yes it is. I am waiting for my husband to return,” she said in a disinterested tone, hoping the tiger would go away quickly.

“Ah. But what kind of mammal would leave such a fine beauty as yourself alone? Perhaps I could keep you company till he comes back? I just love chatting with pretty ladies such as yourself.” 

Before she could say anything else, the large cat simply sat down in the booth, pushed the drink away and clasped his arms on the table and leaned forward. His friendly smile turned subtly vicious.

The bunny kept a straight face, not letting herself get intimidated, “Sir. I kindly ask you to leave me alone right now...”

Meanwhile, Felisky glanced over and saw his bodyguard talking to Mrs. Pawson. He looked back over to Nick, “Forty-four million.”

Nick noticed the subtle body language shift and the side glance. He darted his eyes quickly in the direction the margay peeked and suddenly saw a tiger harassing Judy. Despite keeping his smirk, he felt a small degree of panic. His target may have caught on to their tactic.

At this point, Nick couldn’t fold. Feeling defiant, he drummed his claws on the table, “All-in.” The fox lowered his head, closed his eyes immediately, and shoved his chips into the middle.

Felisky stopped thumbing his chip and slowly placed it into his pile with a dramatic flair while pushing his chips into the pot, “All-in.”

The immediate area around the table went silent as the tension rose and everyone strained to see the final hands. The full one hundred eighty million was riding on the line.

“Just leave,” Judy ordered the tiger without raising her voice too loudly to cause a scene.

The two mammals stared at one another. Judy heard the bets and needed to be ready. She was running out of time. Wolfard was attempting to come to her aid but it was too late.

The Dealer looked around the table, “Gentlemammals. Please show your cards.”

Felisky formed a predatory grin and looked back over to Nick, “Mr. Pawson, would you kindly...” The margay paused mid-sentence in confusion. His fox opponent was leaning back against his chair, with a goofy smirk, eyes closed, fingers in his ears, quietly humming some sort of lullaby, and looking very pleased with himself.

Judy’s ears twitched when she heard Felisky begin to talk again. She went into a panic and hopped out of the booth, trying to squirm through the crowd to get to Nick but all of the larger mammals were blocking her way. Before she could try to squeeze underneath, a large paw caught her arm and the tiger stopped the bunny in her tracks.

The moose was the first to flick his cards down, “Ace, King, Queen Flush.”

Smiling, the panda spread his cards next, “Full House. Tens full of Aces.”

Rearranging the cards in favor of the panda, the Dealer waited for the remaining two players, “Mr. Felisky? Your cards?”

Felisky, flustered eyes still on Nick and unable to savor his hand, flipped his cards over. He had the other Full House.

“A superior Full House. Aces, full of Eights.” The Dealer paused to look at the fox. “Mr. Pawson?”

Felisky spoke up in frustration while jabbing a paw in direction of the fox, “It will not be necessary. We know Mr. Pawson is bluffing. Look at him. He appears to be in some sort of childish stupor.”

The Dealer was about to react to the persuasion when the fox’s eyes suddenly half opened. He returned Felisky’s stare with the biggest Nick Wilde signature smug grin and quickly flipped his cards face up with two fingers. Only the first card was visible showing a Nine of Hearts. The margay’s mouth pursed.

“My bad. Were you saying something, Art?” Nick asked as he spread his two fingers to reveal his second card. A Seven of Hearts.

Silence hung in the room. The Dealer looked down after a moment. “Straight Flush. Six through Ten of Hearts. The high hand. Mr. Pawson wins.”

The surrounding mass of mammals erupted in indistinct conversations and chatter. The tiger had let go of Judy at the announcement of his boss losing. She bounded between the mammals, sliding through, and leaped onto Nick. They shared a fierce victory hug.

“You did it, Slick” she whispered into his ear.

“We did it,” he squeezed back.

Wolfard was smiling and shared a glance with Brian who did a thumbs up. Shortly after, Coltson picked up the mic, “Good show Wilde. You and Hopps can move out. The rest of the ZPD team and Agents… keep eyes and noses on the target and stand by to bring him in.”

Arthur Elliot Felisky slumped in his seat. His three bodyguards appeared near him. He glared at the predator and prey couple in front of him, specifically at the vile red fox who cost him the precious millions he needed for his investors. The margay immediately turned to one of his goons and whispered something. The lion and bear moved away behind the crowd. 

Nick and Judy stood. The fox took one of his five hundred thousand chips and tipped it towards the Dealer with a wink. The Dealer nodded in appreciation.

Without looking back, they began to leave when they noticed the exit to the ballroom was closed and suddenly all the lights went out, plunging the giant room into near complete darkness. Panic hit the crowd as several mammals gasped or began to shout in confusion.

“Sir, the lights just went out,” an agent’s voice could be heard in the com.

“What? Get control of the situation now! Do not let Felisky out of your sights.” Coltson frantically exclaimed. “ZPD team, what is your status?...”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers! Many apologies on how long it took to write this chapter. A mix of IRL happenings, some writer’s block, and a lot of different scenario brainstorming on how to go about it. This chapter also contains the most descriptions and exposition written due to the nature of the game and visiting a new location that was...but wasn’t in the movie. The descriptions are based on the concepts illustrated in the Art of Zootopia artbook.
> 
> Special thanks to a buddy of mine who helped with the beginning poker bits so that readers who play or don’t play can follow along. Readers who play, please feel free to point out any errors in the game mechanics or numbers incase I still missed something after many proof reads, and I will fix as soon as I can.
> 
> Hopefully, our villain’s unique ability doesn’t feel too outlandish within this fanfiction. When searching for the right mammal to be the villain, I wanted a small predator and I came across margays. Reading this small bit of info: "known for their physical agility, but this vocal manipulation of prey species indicates a psychological cunning that merits further study" and "Margays can also imitate the sounds of other animals" gave me inspiration to not only expand it to other predators (albeit to a lesser effect) but also to amp up it to include persuasion.
> 
> Because of this, I almost entertained the plot twist of Judy being forced to play in Nick’s place because only prey animals were being allowed to sit at the table but nitpicking shot down the idea since there wasn’t a believable enough way for Nick to be able to see the cards and players to relay to her what to do, but she still played her part in helping her partner win. There is no Wilde without Hopps and vice versa.
> 
> As always, I appreciate all the comments, reviews, and criticisms. Till next chapter’s conclusion!


	10. Palm Hotel & Casino Royale - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The grand finale of the undercover case!

“ZPD team, what is your status?”

Attempting to keep calm, Nick squinted his eyes, trying to quickly adjust to the sudden darkness and grabbed Judy’s paw to keep her nearby while they were surrounded by a frightened drove of large mammals scurrying about. Judy instinctively assumed a defensive posture with ears up but the loud racket of panicked mammals made it harder to distinguish individual sounds. She could tell by the size and texture of the larger paw that clutched her’s that it belonged to Nick as he tried to lead them to a safer location. 

Brian, who was still at the bar, crouched near the edge of the countertop, nose rapidly sniffing, and answered Coltson, “Sir, I lost visual on Felisky, but I can smell him in the room. The lights are still off and there is a lot of panic among the guests. I last saw Officers Hopps and Wilde near the game table among the crowd.” The gray timberwolf reached for his MBI issued burner smartphone and turned on the camera light to help him see better.

Wolfard replied as well, “Confirming Officer Ardwulf’s observation. No visual on target or Hopps and Wilde.”

“Your priority is to stay on Felisky. Do not let him escape, trackers!” came the blunt command.

“This is Officer McHorn, I’m moving forward into the lobby reception desk to keep visual on the elevators and stairway exits.”

Still stuck in the crowd, Nick and Judy tried to squeeze their way through but it was futile. They were constantly being bumped and smushed by several larger mammals. A few hotel employees managed to turn on their phones to help provide some light in the darkness and calm the guests but their erratic movements provided little visual assistance. With his eyes fully adjusted, the fox tried to reach for his own phone while scanning around the room quickly, and suddenly noticed the tiger, who harassed Judy at the booth, attempting to reach for her from behind. Without hesitation, Nick pushed his partner away, stepping in her place, and felt the powerful grasp of the giant feline’s claws around him.

The gentle shove surprised Judy and she face planted into another mammal several feet away. She felt Nick’s paw yanked from her’s and heard a snarling grunt from his last position. Nose twitching, she called out to him, staying in character, paws waving around the darkness frantically, “Daniel? Daniel!”

A yelp was the only reply she heard as he was forcibly pulled away.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the double doors, Fangmeyer and Trunkaby heard the sudden radio chatter and chaotic commotion from inside the ballroom. The tigress pushed the doorman out of the way and grabbed the double door handles only to find the door locked.

“What’s going on here?” She looked to the doorman and pointed at him, “You! Open these doors immediately.”

The confused camel shook his head, “I’m… I’m sorry. I only check invitations. I don’t have a key.”

“Agent Coltson, this is Officer Trunkaby, the doors to the ballroom are locked. Officer Fangmeyer and I are standing by on the outside. Your orders?” the elephant reported.

Between bursts of agent radio chatter, Coltson’s voice finally answered, “Get those doors open, Officer. Right now!”

“What about the target’s voice ability, Sir?”

“Officer, get in there, and assist my agents. I will not repeat myself again. That’s an order.”

Fangmeyer looked to her fellow undercover officer. “Francine. Can you knock this down?”

The elephant tested the double doors by pushing against them a few times with her trunk and narrowed her eyes. “Move out of the way, Steph.”

Back inside the ballroom, Felisky waited by the back wall near the private elevator with Maria by his side, unfazed by the darkness from his own nocturnal vision, he calmly thumbed a large silver coin in his left paw.

“Sir, what is going on?” asked the agitated capybara.

“Do not be frightened Maria. We are momentarily waiting for a ‘special guest’ to join us in our departure,” he replied with a subtle menacing tone.

Roughly forcing their way through the crowd of mammals, all three bodyguards reappeared in front of their boss, the large tiger holding a fox squirming in his paws who was desperately trying to loosen the choke hold around his neck.

The margay looked up, eyes narrowed, and his ears flattened, “Tony. I do believe my instructions were to grab Mrs. Pawson. The rabbit. Not this vile red wretch.”

The larger feline shamefully bowed his head, “My apologies Mr. Felisky, but he pushed her out of the way before I could grab her.”

“No matter. He will do. Let us depart immediately.”

The trained guards surrounded their boss and moved in a coordinated formation. The group attempted to summon the ballroom private elevator when suddenly the double doors were knocked down. The welcoming light flooded the ballroom entry from the hallway revealing a giant elephant standing in the doorframe with a tigress right behind her.

“Looks like we have company,” the lion said.

“Change of plan, Leon. Let us make haste to the Spa parlour down the hall. Watch for any suspicious individuals and go through the main door. I will handle the rest,” the margay ordered.

“Sir,” Leon acknowledged. 

The polar bear guard reached into his coat and flung a small canister right into the crowd. The smoke bomb detonated, creating a renewed frenzy and sheer panic amongst the mammals who attempted to stampede away while coughing from the fumes.

They ruthlessly pushed through the crowd, shoving and knocking down unsuspecting guests. Judy was finally able to see with the hallway light shining through the doorway and saw their suspect being escorted by his goons. And to her horror, she saw Nick being carried away with them. 

Finding the dress too restrictive to move properly, she noticed several gleaming utensils on the floor near her from a fallen server food tray. The bunny quickly grabbed a knife, and jabbed it between her legs, cutting the expensive fabric straight down the middle on both ends. Judy didn’t give a damn if her leg fur was exposed at this point or if Coltson was going to get pissed for destroying the costly attire. Before leaping into action, Judy cut two more pieces of cloth, crumpled them into smaller pieces, and shoved a piece into each ear. With her agility restored and hearing muffled, she began to hop through the panicked mammals in pursuit.

A fellow undercover MBI agent, a cheetah, attempted to stealthily approach the escaping group from behind but was spotted by the polar bear who pretended to not see him but quickly sidestepped into the suspicious mammal and slammed him into the ground. The bear deftly frisked through the fallen mammal’s attire and paws and seized the agent’s tranquilizer gun. 

“Sir, this mammal was armed,” he informed his boss.

“Excellent work, Ned. Stay vigilant,” Felisky praised without looking back. 

The lion and polar bear succeeded in expertly subduing several more MBI agents’ surprise apprehensions and soon the group found themselves at the door with a very large and angry elephant alongside a tigress blocking their escape. The small margay was not intimidated in the least, he pushed his small secretary in front of him to use as a mammal shield, approached Francine without hesitation, a nasty grin forming on his muzzle. Large prey animals were always his favorite targets. 

“Stop right there!” Fangmeyer ordered as she and Trunkaby raised their weapons.

“You. Miss Elephant. Would you kindly remove your fellow co-worker from this doorway, let us pass, and do not allow anyone else to exit this ballroom,” he directed his voice at Officer Trunkaby.

Fangmeyer looked up to see her fellow officer suddenly clutching her head momentarily only to drop her forefeet to her sides and turn to look at the tigress with an angry blank stare. 

“Francine?” was all she could manage to speak before a giant trunk swept through the air and knocked her back into the hallway against the wall with a loud thud.

Wolfard had joined Brian behind the bar. They had their tranq guns drawn but couldn’t take any clean shots due to the innocent bystanders between them and the escaping group. Both timberwolves watched in terror as Fangmeyer was thrown backwards and slumped against the wall. 

The darker timberwolf quickly reported the status into his mic, “Officer Fangmeyer is down. Repeat Fangmeyer down. Officer Trunkaby attacked her!”

“Oh no!” Judy muttered to herself, as she closed the gap. “This is Officer Hopps. You have to avoid direct contact with the margay at all costs. I repeat stay away from him,” she informed into her mic.

Felisky’s group exited the ballroom and began to move down the hallway in unison. At the sight of his fellow officers’ predicaments, a deep guttural snarl escaped Nick’s lips between strangled gasping breaths, and he began to kick at his captor and dug his claws into the tiger’s large paw. Annoyed, the tiger backhanded him hard across the head, and knocked him out cold.

No one else was able to get past Officer Trunkaby as she continued to block the doorway. Judy now found herself staring down several tons of elephant between herself and saving Nick. 

“Francine? Francine snap out of it! It’s Judy! Please you have to stop!” she pleaded but to no avail.

Her fellow officer took a monstrous trunk swing at her and Judy dodge rolled away. The bunny had no choice, she narrowed her eyes, took a breath, and leapt forward. Artfully dodging the trunk and stomping feet, she managed to dive and roll under the elephant, and binked into the hallway. She saw poor Fangmeyer still knocked out cold against the wall. With a heavy heart, she had to ignore helping her for now, and ran down the hallway. She saw the group just up ahead. They were stopped at the Spa parlour entry that she noticed earlier and were attempting to wedge the door open.

Skidding to a stop, Judy aimed her tranq gun right at Felisky. The tiger noticed his earlier prey and flashed a ferocious grin, “Well, ain’t that cute.”

He stepped in front of his boss while holding an unconscious Nick out in front of him by the collar. Judy was barely able to stop her trigger pull in time. Tony casually waved his left paw’s razor sharp claws and held them menacingly near the fox’s throat.

Judy couldn’t bear to see her partner hurt and being held captive. “Nick…” was all she could whisper to herself meekly, ears drooping, as she obediently lowered her weapon.

Felisky turned to see Mrs. Pawson, armed and with a torn dress, silently staring down the group. He placed a paw on the tiger’s leg to stop him. “That will not be necessary, Tony.”

“Shall we take her instead, Sir?”

The margay evaluated the situation for a moment before facing Judy to address her, “No. However, I am most curious, Elena. A fine lady such as yourself looking so improper and so dangerously armed I might add,” he mused while gesturing with a paw. “That is not ladylike at all, my dear…”

The bunny’s expression widened in terror. The pieces of dress fabric were not enough to completely block Felisky’s commanding voice from her acute rabbit hearing. Her ears twitched. This did not go unnoticed by her target.

“You look tired. Perhaps you need a rest? Kindly draw your weapon and put yourself down,” he ordered with a vicious scowl.

The lion finally opened the parlour door and signaled for the group to advance, “It’s open. Move.”

Felisky enjoyed one last glance at Judy’s horrified expression as he disappeared into the parlour. The bunny attempted to place her left paw on her right arm to halt it but resistance was futile. Her trembling arm refused to obey her own thoughts as she slowly raised the tranq gun and aimed it right at herself. Just as she pulled the trigger, a larger gray paw swatted the gun out of her paw and the dart fired into the nearby wall, bounced, and rolled away on the floor.

“Judy! Come on, look at me Judy!” Brian said with a worried expression as he skidded to a stop and gently shook the bunny’s shoulders.

The bunny blinked and shook her head as her mind raced to catch up with what just happened, “Brian… thank you… I almost...” she said in between heavy breaths before her eyes widened again. “Nick! He has Nick! We have to go after them!”

“Wait! We need some kind of plan,” he tried to hold back the fidgety rabbit as she attempted to hurdle past him.

A loud gasp made both of them momentarily pause. Officer Trunkaby finally regained control, holding her forefeet at her trunk, realizing what she had done, and rushed over to Fangmeyer. Wolfard was right behind the elephant. He had distracted Francine earlier so Brian could slip by in time to help Judy.

Francine’s trunk carefully darted all over the tigress to check her breathing and pulse. Thankfully, Fangmeyer seemed okay. Wolfard put a paw on his elephant co-worker to briefly comfort her as a few tears escaped escaped down her face.

The elephant's eyes narrowed and looked to her fellow officers. “You three go and stop that little piece of filth! It’s too dangerous for me to go after him. I’ll stay here with Steph,” she managed between breaths.

Wolfard nodded, joining Judy and Brian, as the trio bolted down the hall and into the parlour. It was empty. All three of them saw the private elevator in the back of the room with the elevator light blinking downward.

“ZPD team, what is going on? Report! You better not have lost sight of our target…” Coltson was frantically yelling into the mic.

Before any of the officers could reply, they heard a shoving sound and some very explicit swearing. Coltson’s unpleasant voice was replaced with a familiar and welcome gruff voice.

“You’ve done enough, Coltson! This is under my jurisdiction now. I am taking over this operation. Officers, report your status.”

“Chief! Officer Fangmeyer is down but she’s okay. Officer Trunkaby is with her. I am here with Officers Wolfard and Ardwulf. They took Officer Wilde, Sir! He has three professionally trained bodyguards with him. A lion, tiger, and a polar bear. Along with a small capybara. They took some sort of private spa elevator and are heading downstairs!” Judy immediately reported.

“Roger, Hopps. We need to proceed with caution. There are innocent bystanders in the Hotel. McHorn, do you have a visual on our target?” There was radio silence. “McHorn?”

Judy’s ears perked and she could faintly hear sounds of shrieking and panic from below, “Oh, no… Sir, I think Officer McHorn might be in trouble!”

“Dammit! Get down to the lobby immediately but keep your distance. We cannot risk anyone being influenced by this feline. Get visual on Felisky and Wilde. I am calling all available units to the Hotel. Any remaining operatives on the line, do not engage directly with this mammal, reinforcements are on the way.”

Judy was already sprinting out of the parlour as fast as her bunny legs allowed her towards the fire escape stairway with the timberwolves following. She dug out the ineffective dress fabric from her ears and tossed them to the floor.

“Hopps. How do we effectively suppress this persuasion technique?” the Chief asked.

Throwing the door open and leaping down the first set of stairs, Judy replied between breaths, “I was able to give Officer Wilde something else to focus on, but I think your next best bet is to wear earpieces or plugs that completely block all sound, Sir.”

“Affirmative, Officer.”

Wolfard and Brian skipped down the stairs, holding onto the railing, tailing Judy. Both wolves were amazed at the bunny’s incredible speed and parkour. She was already at the exit door and flung it open. The muffled panic of frantic hotel guests now flooded their ears as they all entered the lobby. The three officers now saw the source of the panic. There was McHorn, rampaging among the crowd with a blank expression, several security staff and undercover agents knocked unconscious at his feet. 

“Oh, no…” Judy gasped.

Wolfard growled with bared fangs, “That damn margay… we can’t just ignore this. We need to help him!”

“Do you think we can talk him out of it?” Brian asked.

They could hear Wolfard swear as he checked his tranquilizer gun and sighed, “We may not have time. We have to put him to sleep before someone might get seriously hurt or worse… I’ll do it. Just.. distract him, please.”

Judy frowned and placed a paw on Wolfard’s arm. She knew they were close friends. “I’m sorry, Greg.”

“Thanks, Judy. C’mon, we can’t let them get away,” he offered a weak smile to the smaller police officer.

Judy and Brian sprinted at McHorn, waving their paws in the air, and shouted to gain his attention. The rhino looked over and began to charge and swing his fists as the two smaller mammals ducked away from the attack. With his back to the other timberwolf, Wolfard snuck up and took aim. A clean shot to the neck. Within moments the large rhino teetered, his movements sluggish, and tipped over onto the floor into a deep sleep.

Wolfard kneeled next to his sleeping friend, “Officer Ardwulf, your nose is better than mine. I’ll stay here, report to Bogo, and attempt to calm the crowd. Go after them you two. Get Wilde back.”

The bunny and smaller timberwolf nodded. Brian was already sniffing the air and his head immediately snapped to the lobby restaurant, “They ran in there Judy!” He pointed to the fancy bistro.

Watching them continue pursuit, Wolfard lowered his muzzle to speak into his mic, “Chief Bogo, this is Officer Wolfard, Officer McHorn is down. The target made him attack several agents and security staff in the lobby. I had to tranq him, Sir. I am with him and will try to calm the civilians. We need immediate medical assistance. Officers Hopps and Ardwulf are in pursuit of Felisky. They appear to have escaped into the hotel restaurant on the west side of the building.”

“Roger, Wolfard. Backup and Medical Buses are on their way. Check the wounded and do what you can to restore order until help arrives.”

A scuffle could be heard in the earpiece as Colston’s voice barely came through, “Chief Bogo, we need Wolfard in pursuit of the target not placating hotel guests!”

“You will shut it right now, Agent! I am responsible for the well being of my precinct’s officers and my city’s civilians.”

The timberwolf stood with a growl and proceeded to follow his Chief’s orders.

Judy and Brian entered the restaurant, to find an antelope waiter, throwing food and shouting incoherently at any mammals that remained in the dining area. Another victim of the margay’s persuasion. With an exchange of glances, the bunny grabbed a nearby table cloth, spooling it in her paws, and began to circle beneath the tables, while her timberwolf friend distracted the antelope. Judy knocked the waiter down from behind and quickly tied his hooves behind his back with Brian holding him down. She then followed Brian into the kitchen where frightened kitchen staff huddled in various cubbies or behind the counters.

“Did anyone see which direction a group of six well dressed mammals went? They had a fox with them,” Judy gently asked the cowering mammals.

A chubby bear, in a chef’s uniform, stood from behind the counter and pointed a shaky finger to the back.

“Thank you, Sir.” Judy smiled. 

She ran down the remaining length of the kitchen towards the food storage area, with Brian in tow, and found an open back door that exited into an alley that contained all of the hotel’s trash dumpsters. Brian’s nose wrinkled at the terrible odors of the garbage but he continued to hunt the scent. He followed it down the alleyway and made a turn into another adjacent empty alley where the two officers skidded to a stop. 

A large black sedan’s doors were slamming shut, engine roaring, and the vehicle peeled out. The duo watched it disappear onto the street, cutting off traffic, and speeding away.

“No!” Judy shrieked and gritted her teeth. She quickly spoke into her mic, “This is Officer Hopps. Suspects are escaping in a large black sedan with tinted windows and no plate. They are on Palm St. heading north towards Agave Avenue! They still have Officer Wilde...”

“Roger, Hopps. Relaying information to Clawhauser,” Bogo answered. She heard a short pause as he switched to another set of comms to reach the ZPD dispatch. “Clawhauser, get all available ground and air units to Sahara Square immediately. Our primary suspect is in an unmarked black sedan heading north to Agave Avenue. I want roadblocks on every major exit from the borough and the city. Tell all units to proceed with caution, they have Officer Wilde captive. Do not let them escape!”

Despite the Chief taking control of the situation, Judy couldn’t just stand around to wait with Nick taken. She would never forgive herself if something happened to him. She grabbed and tugged on Brian’s shirt sleeve, “Brian, we need to get a car and go after them!”

“What? How?” he asked in surprise.

“We have the authority to commandeer a vehicle from a civilian if necessary. Section 150 of the Zootopia penal code. I don’t care if we have to steal one at this point!” she pleaded. 

Just as they were about to head to the street, Brian took a few more sniffs, and paused. He abruptly grabbed the bunny, “Judy, wait!”

She looked at him in confusion, “What it is Brian? We don’t have time!”

“Something isn’t right. There’s another faint trail to the scent here. I can barely smell it… in this other direction,” his nose pointed them in the opposite direction of the street.

“Are you sure? That’s a dead end. No one is here and we saw the car!” the bunny gestured with both paws out.

The small gray timberwolf didn’t reply and moved in full concentration to the back of the alley. His nose lead him to look down at a bunch of overturned trash at his feet. Brian kneeled down, continuing to sniff closer, and pushed all the garbage bags out of the way. Hidden underneath was a large sewer grate. He tugged at the edges and felt that it was recently moved. Judy joined his side and looked down with wide eyes.

Brian met her gaze and pointed to the grate, “Nick isn’t in that car. They took him down here…”

* * *

The uncomfortable bobbing motion and foul stench eventually woke Nick. The left side of his face felt like he decided to make out with a moving truck. Sounds of running and dripping water, along with splashing steps echoed in his ears. He slowly opened his eyes. It was dark, damp, and he saw sludgy water below him. His night vision kicked in and he found himself slung over the giant tiger’s shoulder like a burlap sack. A voice broke his thoughts and he quickly closed his eyes, pretending to be asleep again.

“I never fathomed I would find myself wading through such filth again,” Felisky mused. “Are you positive no one will track us down here, Tony?”

“Yes, Sir. This is the best scent blocker money can buy,” the tiger answered. “It would take one hell of a nose to find us.”

Nick secretly smirked. He knew someone with a hell of a nose. Hopefully his friend would be able to track them down into the sewer. His thoughts then returned to his fellow police officers. He hoped they were all okay.

“Good. Just to be on the safe side, please check our dear Mr. Pawson for any hidden surprises.”

At the sound of that command, Nick’s heart momentarily skipped a beat. The fox quickly attempted to slow his breathing and tried to appear limp and motionless. The tiger stopped, began to pat him down, and fished out Nick’s concealed tranquilizer gun. He continued to dig around inside all of Nick’s pockets and found the carrot pen with an amused grin. He placed the goofy looking item into his own pants pocket. Finding the handkerchief, the tiger inspected the red piece of cloth, and found some leftover blueberries, a few of which spilled out into the water. Rolling his eyes, he stuffed the fabric back into Nick’s pocket. Tony then removed Mr. Pawson’s wallet, phone, and he found the MBI mic inside the suit jacket lining.

Still suspicious, Tony began to comb through Nick’s bushy tail. Not finding anything, he jabbed a claw into both of Nick’s ears. It took tremendous effort to not fidget or make an aggravated face as the tiger roughly scratched around his tail and the sensitive insides of his ears. After a few moments of searching, he managed to scoop out the tiny specialized MBI earpiece. The tiger slumped his captive back over his right shoulder. 

“Sir. This one was armed too. And I think I found how his little bunny was helping him. These are serious pieces of tech here,” he said while holding out his fingertip to show the devices to his boss.

The margay looked over at the earpiece and mic set, “It seems Mrs. Pawson was warning him after all. I have never met another mammal who could directly detect my gift. In the future, I will need to exercise better caution around lagomorphs.”

They continued with a brisk pace as the tiger smashed the MBI equipment incase it contained any GPS tracking components.

“Was there anything else?” Felisky inquired.

“No, Sir. Just his phone, wallet, a red handkerchief, and a stupid looking carrot pen. Probably his wife’s.”

“If… she is even his wife,” The smaller feline speculated with paws behind his back. “Check the phone and disable it.”

“Sir,” Tony nodded and went checking the burner smartphone for information. 

There was no unlock screen. Navigating the menus, everything appearing to be expertly set up, including fake contacts, call logs, messages, email, and even some photos. Satisfied with his search, the tiger opened the back panel, removed the battery, and stuffed both items into his other pocket. He began to thumb through Mr. Pawson’s wallet. Again, he found nothing overtly suspicious. All of the fake credit cards, receipts, bank cards, and the driver’s license appeared authentic. There was a large amount of cash in the wallet. The tiger grinned and helped himself to the money.

As the tiger was busying himself with Mr. Pawson’s belongings, Nick opened his eyes to look around again. There was nothing to identify his location or which direction they were headed. Checking his captor’s suit, he noticed Judy’s pen partially protruding from the tiger’s pant pocket right below him. It was sitting just out of his dangling paw’s reach. Doing his best to be discrete, Nick tried to reach for the brightly colored orange device. Not enough. He tried again. Failed. 

Suddenly, the tiger rolled his stiff shoulder and stretched, causing Nick to dip forward. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the fox used his expert ex-con fingers and deftly pickpocketed the pen. He rolled the pen in the palm of his paw, slid it part way up his sleeve, and readied his thumb over the record button.

“Everything on the phone and wallet checks out to one Daniel R. Pawson, Sir.”

The margay’s response was a quiet huff and a dismissive paw wave. After several long minutes of silent walking through the dimly lit and aging tunnel, the trio arrived at a four way junction. Felisky stopped and waited for his bodyguard to pause behind him. 

“Which way to this safe location, Tony?” the smaller feline asked.

Nick silently tapped the record button.

“Down this tunnel, Sir. It descends further at another fork and leads to the Nocturnal District. I know of an old warehouse we can hide in until your contacts can extract us.”

Felisky nodded and walked forward. His bodyguard fell in step behind him. As they entered the tunnel, Nick’s sly fox mind raced for an idea to leave behind a clue, confident that Brian would lead the rest of the ZPD team down here. Time was running out as they stepped further from the tunnel entry, so Nick did one of the few things he was always an expert in. Be a smug nuisance.

As he suddenly began to speak, he fidgeted, and attempted to kick the tiger in the face with his right leg, “Whoa, hey now! I didn’t know I ordered the VIP service. You fellas know how to really pamper a mammal, don’t you?”

The two felines started slightly at the sudden exclamation while Tony had to lean away from the sudden knee that came swinging towards his muzzle. The large burly tiger grunted, viciously grabbed the squirming fox on his shoulder, and slammed him against the tunnel wall. 

“Great. The annoying son of a vixen is finally awake. Took you long enough, huh princess?” the tiger snarled in the fox’s face.

“What can I say? I couldn’t keep away from my prince charming.”

The tiger growled with flattened ears.

You know you missed me, Frosted Flakes,” Nick defiantly smirked.

“You little piece of…” he didn’t finish his sentence before giving Nick a good smack across the snout.

“I know a bunny that can hit harder than you,” the fox spat to the side.

“Is that so, Pawson? I didn’t know you and your rabbit had that type of kinky relationship?” the tiger shot back.

“Jealous?”

Just as Tony was ready to strike again, Felisky interrupted the small feud, “That is enough, Tony. Do not let his crass and misguided bravado get to you. His manners are those of an uneducated boor.”

“Really Art? I always thought of myself as a puckish rogue,” the fox smirked towards the margay.

Felisky had enough and flattened his ears, “Yes. Charming. Kindly shut your foul mouth and obediently follow in silence.”

A few moments passed before the smug grin disappeared and a rather uncharacteristically neutral expression formed on Nick’s face. The tiger let him go and sighed in relief. 

“Thank you, Sir. I can’t stand foxes. Especially ones like this piece of work,” Tony said placing a paw back on Nick’s shoulder.

“Indeed. Let us go,” came the curt and annoyed order.

The tiger nudged the fox forward and the three predators continued their trek further into the dull tunnel heading north. Moments later, unknownst to the tiger and the margay, Nick stole a glance backwards and secretly smirked to himself.

* * *

After Judy radioed in to Chief Bogo about their suspicions and received the go ahead, she and Brian descended the metal ladder once the timberwolf slid the sewer grate open. They found themselves standing in a dimly lit, drab tunnel, filled with running dirty ankle high water, and a putrid stench. Brian was really suffering from the disgusting odors but he pushed through the discomfort. He had a friend to find. Right now they only had two ways to go. The timberwolf took out his smartphone and turned on the flashlight feature before handing it to Judy. Able to see a little bit in the dark, he knew the bunny would need the light more than himself.

“Which way Brian?” she asked.

Bracing himself, he sniffed the damp air, wrinkled his nose, and pointed, “This way.”

The bunny just about started to run when her fellow officer grabbed her arm, “Judy, wait! We don’t know how far ahead they are. If we make too much noise or alert them to our presence, we will lose our element of surprise.”

She sighed and her ears drooped, “I’m sorry Brian. You’re right. I’m just so worried about Nick…”

Brian gave her a small comforting smile. He remembered how Nick taped that photo of himself with Judy above his bunk at the Academy. Naturally, Nick never openly admitted it, but the timberwolf knew how much of an inspiration that photo was to the fox during his toughest training days. The fox did it for her. “It’s okay, I understand. I know how much Nick means to you. We’ll get him back.”

“Thank you,” Judy smiled back.

The pair cautiously waded through the water, attempting to stay as silent as possible. Judy only turned on the camera light when necessary and never pointed it too far down the tunnel. She kept her ears perked, listening for any chance she might hear the other group. So far, much to her disappointment, there was nothing.

Some time passed as they navigated through the small maze of tunnels and Brian whispered to Judy, “I may have lost the scent, Judy. It was really weak to begin with and this… stink down here is really making it tough to pick up a fresh trail.”

“I know you're doing your best, Brian. We have to keep moving forward,” she quietly replied.

Judy felt something tiny bump her exposed leg and pointed the phone light down. A blueberry was floating next to her ankle in the dirty viscous water.

She happily gasped, “Brian, look! It’s a blueberry! Nick brought some from home and was snacking on them earlier. At least we know we’re heading the right way!”

Brian gave her an enthusiastic thumbs up and they marched on. Before long they arrived at the same junction that Nick, Tony, and Felisky came to. The bunny found her spirits diminish as she stared down each tunnel.

“No!...” Judy’s shoulders slumped in frustration and she felt a small pang in her heart.

Brian frowned, his own ears drooped, and he walked up to Judy and placed a paw on her shoulder, “Let me try to find it again, Judy.”

The bunny followed the timberwolf as he began sniffing down each tunnel, going from the left and working his way clockwise. As Brian would leave to test the next adjacent tunnel, Judy remained and walked a bit further in, casting the camera light all along the tunnel walls and floor, looking and hoping for a clue. Nothing. There was nothing. Placing a paw on the tunnel wall for support, she looked absolutely devastated. Brian quietly left to check the tunnels a second time. 

Judy’s mind raced through the possibilities. There were three tunnels to choose from. Even if she and Brian each took a different tunnel, there was no guarantee that either one would be the correct path without a scent or clue. And if they separated, it would be easier for Felisky and his bodyguard to subdue them individually, if either of them caught up to the fleeing group.

After a moment of wallowing in near defeat, Judy scowled and grit her teeth. She was not going to give up, and began looking around the tunnels again, stepping further inside each one. She came around full circle once more with no luck. Her ears drooped once again and she told herself to suck it up. Going even further in, her tenacity was rewarded. In the north facing tunnel, her camera light revealed a large orange object lying against the curved tunnel wall, just outside the edge of the running water. 

“Brian!” she squealed. “It’s my carrot pen!”

The timberwolf came splashing over, as Judy bent down to pick up the welcome plastic orange device. She thanked the heavens it was still dry. Double checking for any other sounds further down the tunnel and deducing no one was within earshot range, she eagerly pressed the rewind button and hit play.

“Down this tunnel, Sir. It descends further at another fork and leads to the Nocturnal District. I know of an old warehouse we can hide in until your contacts can extract us.”

Gasping, she recognized the tiger’s voice, the same bodyguard who harassed her in the booth and threatened Nick with his claws. Despite that, she breathed a sigh of relief confirming Nick was conscious again, and dropping them breadcrumbs to follow. “Clever fox,” she whispered to herself.

“So they’re headed to the Nocturnal District,” Brian thought out loud.

“And he said Sir. So we know Felisky is with him for sure. That’s at least three mammals, counting Nick,” Judy added.

“Right. Let me see the pen,” Brian said while holding a paw out. 

Judy handed it over and he began to sniff it profusely before handing it back, “I can barely get a whiff of Nick from it. They must have sprayed him down too just to be safe. Let’s get going. We should radio in to Bogo.”

The bunny nodded and craned her neck towards her hidden mic, “Chief Bogo. This is Officer Hopps. Do you copy, Sir?” There was no response. “Chief? Can you hear me?” Nothing but silence answered her. Judy checked the phone. There was no signal as well.

“We’ll try again later,” Brian offered softly.

“Right. Come on,” Judy moved with renewed energy down the watery tunnel.

* * *

Descending down the northwest tunnel at the fork, the predators marched on for a couple miles in relative silence with just the echoes of running sludge and dripping water to distract their minds from the monotonous hike. Soon they began to pass by several metal ladders leading up to the streets.

Nick knew this wasn’t good. He was going to need to leave another clue behind once they arrived at whichever exit his captors were planning to use. Sauntering behind the margay, he placed his paws in his pockets. To his surprise, he felt his handkerchief and a few remaining blueberries, still inside. A small smile curled at the tips of his lips. The fox managed to secretly roll a single blueberry out of his pocket at the same time he splashed water with one of his feet and pretended to yawn.

“Shut up,” came the gruff voice behind him as he felt a sudden rough shove that nearly made him stumble forward.

“Easy there, Stars and Stripes,” he goaded the tiger.

“That will be enough from both of you,” came the accented voice from the lead.

“He started it,” Nick childishly egged on.

Felisky glared over his shoulder and Nick simply shut his mouth while smirking in usual foxy fashion. They arrived at their destination. The tiger handed his boss Nick’s confiscated tranquilizer gun, climbed the ladder so that he could open the sewer grate, and survey the streetside surroundings.

“All clear,” he said after a few moments.

Nick felt the jab of the gun barrel in his back, “Please, after you, Daniel.”

Before he grabbed the metal bars, Nick with paws still in his pockets, scrunched up his red handkerchief into the palm of his right paw, and then began to climb the ladder. “So polite. You’re such a gentlemammal after all, Art,” he harassed his captor.

“You will stop calling me that. And we shall see how long that silver tongue of yours will last the night, my friend,” came the very annoyed reply.

Part way up the ladder, Nick casually slowed his ascent, watching Felisky step closer as he waited for the fox to climb up. Glancing back up, the tiger was momentarily checking the street again. This was his chance. Nick stopped and swished his tail right across the margay’s face, causing him to stumble and look away, while simultaneously flicking his wrist downward to release the bunched up handkerchief down the ladder and onto the tunnel floor, and resumed climbing.

“Why you uncouth red filth…” came the insult that never finished as the margay recomposed himself and glared at Nick.

“Whoopsie,” was all Nick managed to say before he yelped as the tiger grabbed his collar and yanked him up the rest of the way.

“You really don’t know when to quit do you, Pawson?” Tony snarled, held Nick up, and curled his free paw menacingly. 

Nick’s eyes widened, “Now, now, let’s not get too excited…”

With a roar, the tiger slashed him across the lower half of his snout with his dirtied claws.

The fox yipped as he felt small stinging traces of blood begin to flow against his fur. Nick shook it off and didn’t want to give the tiger the satisfaction of his intimidation despite his racing heartbeat, “Careful now, I might just get an infection.”

Before it escalated any further, Felisky climbed out of the sewer, and stood facing the two predators, “That’s enough, Tony! Control yourself. Do you not see this fox is trying to irritate you and draw attention to us? Now close this grate and take us to the warehouse.” 

The tiger obeyed and dropped Nick on the floor like he was a sack of potatoes. 

“And you, Daniel, will once again kindly shut that obnoxious mouth of yours until we are inside.”

Tony closed the grate and pulled out his phone to double check their GPS coordinates, “It’s just down this block, Sir.”

“Lead the way,” Felisky ordered as he handed the tranq gun back to his bodyguard, prodded a silent Nick forward, and the three briskly walked towards several old abandoned buildings.

* * *

Meanwhile, Judy and Brian were not too far behind. They came upon the fork and knew to take the lower northwestern route according to the recording. After some time, they hurried their pace when Judy couldn’t hear any signs of the other three predators ahead of them. Soon enough, they began to see the metal ladders that lead to the streets above. 

Staring down the long dark tunnel, Judy furrowed her brow in determination, and turned to Brian, “Can you smell anything, Brian?”

“Sorry, Judy, it’s too faint again,” he replied with downcast eyes.

She placed a paw on his arm, “It’s okay. I’m sure Nick left another clue somewhere.”

He nodded and they continued their way. Brian kept his eyes on the ceiling and walls while continuing to sniff the foul air. Judy illuminated the sludge and floor with the phone. The battery was beginning to get very low.

Passing several more exits, she found another blueberry floating about, “Brian, look! Another blueberry. Okay, keep an eye out for any clues.”

“Got it.”

The pair trudged along the tunnel slowly inspecting their surroundings more closely. Judy was searching up ahead when Brian paused next to a ladder and his nose alerted him to a smell he recognized. He followed it down the cold metal wall and found a piece of red fabric hidden next to a ladder. Picking it up, he held it up to his nose and took several long sniffs.

“Judy! I think I found something. This has to be the exit!” he whispered excitedly.

The bunny rushed over to see what was in his paw. Despite being ecstatic for a clue, her ears instantly fell, “Oh, no…” she meekly whispered back as she gently took the red handkerchief and clutched it to her chest. “Nick never goes anywhere without this.”

“Then let’s go get our friend back, so you can return it to him. I have a faint scent again. And it definitely goes right up this ladder. I’ll go first,” Brian said while pointing above.

Judy nodded and tucked the red fabric safely away. With some effort, Brian budged the mammalhole cover, slid the grate open, and climbed up. The bunny quickly joined him and they found themselves on an empty service road inside a huge expansive cavern. 

Hundreds if not thousands of mixed rich calcite, dolomite, and limestone stalactites hung over their heads forming a wondrous yet dangerous looking environment. Large deposits of clear blue celestite crystals adorned the cavern walls. The lights from the nearby street lamps and distant natural rock buildings created a soft glow that reflected from the crystals and bathed the surrounding area in a beautiful blue light, like a permanent moonglow on a clear country night sky. Judy would be in greater awe if it wasn’t for their dire situation. There was a small nearby street sign identifying the service road as Gneiss Road and another showing Slab Road.

Looking down at her phone, she saw it was ready to die at only 2% power left, however, something else caught her attention. There were sticky red blots beneath her feet.

“Brian!” she pointed at the ground.

He kneeled down, traced a finger on the red liquid, and sniffed it. His expression turned grim, “Blood. Fox blood.”

“Can you follow it?” Judy asked biting her lip trying to keep her emotions in check.

“Yes. The scent is going towards those old looking buildings over there down the block,” he pointed with his snout.

“Okay. We gotta try to call the Chief first,” she suggested. Judy turned to her MBI mic, “Chief Bogo, can you hear me? Come in, Sir. This is Officer Hopps.” Radio silence. Sighing, she looked at the burner phone. 1% battery left and only one signal bar for reception. She had to try. The bunny punched in the direct ZPD Dispatch number, that she memorized by heart, clenching a fist in frustration, as she brought the phone to her ear.

“ZPD… Dispatch, how… I help… you?” came the barely audible but friendly voice of Clawhauser.

“Clawhauser! Listen to me, Officer Ardwulf and I are in the Nocturnal District, in a large blue crystal cavern full of abandoned warehouses! They have Nick here! We are on the corner of Gneiss and Slab. Tell Chief Bogo. We need backup immediately,” Judy rifled off the information. “Clawhauser?”

There was static as the cheetah attempted to reply. Before she could relay the information again the phone died. Judy looked at the blank screen and rapidly jabbed the power button in frustration. “Oh… no, no, no…” The bunny wanted to scream.

“We have to hope they got that, Judy. But for now, it looks like we’re on our own,” Brian sighed with a reserved huff.

The bunny took a deep breath, “Then we can’t waste anymore time.” She pushed past Brian and headed in the direction he pointed to earlier.

Back at the station, Clawhauser strained his ears to scribble down Judy’s frantic and static filled information as it cut in and out, “Clawhauser… to me… Ardwulf… I… Nocturnal District… cavern… warehouses… Nick… We… Gneiss… Bogo… backup immediately…”

“Hopps? Hopps?” It was futile. The connection had died. He attempted a callback to the number but it went straight to a generic voicemail. 

The worried cheetah quickly contacted Chief Bogo who was monitoring the situation from a remote location with Agent Coltson, “Chief! I just got an update from Officer Hopps!”

“Go ahead Clawhauser.”

“I couldn’t hear much Chief but she and Officer Ardwulf tracked Officer Wilde into the Nocturnal District. All I could make out were the words: cavern, warehouses, Gneiss, and they need backup before we lost contact.”

“The Nocturnal District!? Dammit. Gneiss sounds like a possible road or street name. Get the techs to do everything they can to pinpoint a location that matches Hopps’ description and send all possible units not in pursuit of that getaway vehicle to the District immediately! I will contact the Chief of Precinct Eight for assistance. Bogo out.”

“Yes, Chief,” Clawhauser answered in a serious tone and jumped to his task.

The cape buffalo angrily turned to the clydesdale sitting next to him and jabbed a hoof in his face, “Coltson, you are responsible for this mess. You and your men failed to contain your target after we did our part. So, you better use every resource you have to help us narrow down this location, right now!”

“Don’t threaten me, Chief Bogo” came the hostile snort.

“I can and I will! I better not find out you withheld any vital information about this Felisky from us. Those are my officers being put on the line. And so help me if any further harm comes to them because of this operation…” Bogo’s nostrils flared and he picked up his headpiece again, speaking to a different agent. “This is Chief Bogo. Connect me to Precinct Eight. Do it now!”

* * *

The three predators found themselves inside of a rickety, dusty, dirty, and old cricket packaging warehouse. Bugs scurried about as they made their way further into the interior, past rotting stacks of crates and shipping materials. They came to an old office with a rusty metal desk, ancient electronic equipment, torn papers, and a broken desk lamp. A single elevated small window cast a cone of bluish light against the far wall. The tiger dusted off the squeaky office chair for his boss before he tied Nick’s paws to a nearby wall pipe with a rope he found in the main storage area.

Felisky reached into his coat to produce his phone, unlocked it, and held it up for his bodyguard, “Tony. Contact Reginald and inform him of our situation. We will need to be extracted as quickly as possible.”

“Sir,” the tiger replied as he took the phone and headed outside to get better reception.

Felisky took a seat while Nick leaned against the wall as comfortably as he could. The fox and margay sat in silence. After looking around the office, Nick watched as the small feline reached into his suit jacket and took out a fairly large silver coin and began to thumb it around in his left paw like he did with the poker chips earlier in the night. Pondering his current situation, Nick decided to try a different approach with his target. His conning days had taught him how to warm up other mammals when going in for a hustle. 

“Keepsake?” Nick asked in a surprisingly non smug and curious voice.

The fox’s genuine tone caught the margay off guard for a moment, “What would it be to you, Daniel?”

“I have a few of my own. Looks like we have something in common, Arthur,” he replied.

“I highly doubt that,” came the curt snarl.

“Try me.”

The margay stopped thumbing the coin and crossed his arms, “Very well. Tell me Daniel. Do you know what it is like to be so impoverished that filthy water and rotting food was considered a blessing on a fortunate day? To know what it is like to watch your own family helplessly suffer? To know what it is like to be spit on and ignored by other mammals who perceive you as beneath them? Do you?”

Nick frowned with flattened ears as some of those points hit a little close to home. 

“Actually, I do. Foxes around here aren’t exactly highly regarded.” He mixed in his honest answers with the fake information of his undercover alias. “I lived on the streets for a few years because I ran away from home in my youth. I’ve had other mammals view me as only sly and untrustworthy. Doors and opportunities were closed before even speaking to me. Just one look and I was reduced to less than the dirt most mammals walked on. So yeah, I became exactly what they expected of me. I learned to hustle and take their money. That’s how I stayed alive before returning to the farm. Then I took those valuable lessons and applied them to business.”

Felisky raised his chin in contemplation and a brief empathetic glimmer flashed in his eyes. Nick caught on to the change in his expression and body language. There was a scoff before the feline addressed him again, “And you decided to help these same mammals that would not have given even a toss if you never existed?”

The fox almost snickered at the question that surprisingly paralleled his own real life and new career choice, “That’s right. I never wanted to harm anyone in my hustles. Even had a goal in mind but it wasn’t the right goal. Not until I met her…”

“Ah, yes. Your darling pretty little rabbit. A prey mammal.” Those words rolled off his tongue in disgust. “What makes her so different?”

“And here I thought you liked her? No? And she is different. Elena genuinely loves other mammals and wants to help everyone she meets. Big or small. Predator or Prey. I wouldn’t be the same mammal I am now if it wasn’t for her,” Nick insisted with a reverent tone.

Felisky slid off the noisy chair and walked right up to Nick. He jabbed a claw into the fox’s dress shirt, “How touching. Those were merely superficial pleasantries at the hotel. And unfortunately, that is where our similarities end, Daniel. We do not share the same view of this world nor the same desire to help it. And this is proof of that.” The small feline flashed the meticulously polished and shiny silver coin in front of the fox. “The first dollar I ever earned when I learned about my gift and a promise I made...”

The tiger bodyguard finally returned to the office and stood in the doorway eavesdropping at the exchange happening in front of him. Felisky abruptly ended his speech upon seeing Tony return. Nick followed his gaze and caught sight of his tiger buddy and greeted him.

“Hey, Frosted Flakes. Thought you might have gotten lost. You know I have to go to the little kit’s room. Think you could lend me a paw?”

Once again the tiger seethed in annoyance at this damn fox’s running mouth before ignoring him and spoke to his boss while returning the margay’s phone, “Sir. The extraction crew is on it’s way. They will be here soon.”

“Good. Go wait by the entrance and keep an eye out.”

“Gladly, Sir.” Tony nodded and left. 

Felisky dropped the conversation and returned to thumbing his coin while staring at Nick with baleful eyes. Several long minutes ticked by in silence.

A small movement caught Nick’s attention in the tiny window high above the desk. His eyes momentarily gleamed. Nick knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere else with this feline but decided to keep prodding him, “Well, Art… you could’ve really done something with this gift of yours. Helped other mammals. Made the world a better place. It’s a bummer.”

The captive fox watched him turn away and pocket the keepsake. 

“And there is that boorish language and nonsensical idealism again. Now, I did not get this far by being such a trusting or naive gentlemammal, Daniel Pawson. If that is in fact your real name,” Felisky alluded.

This was it. Nick had been anticipating this question most of the night once they discovered this ferocious little feline’s unique ability. He was more surprised it took this long before an interrogation happened, however, the fox found himself thankful it was not sooner. Nick closed his eyes for a moment.

“What is your real name?” the margay asked.

A brief pause hung in the air between both predators before Nick answered, “Daniel Ryan Pawson.”

With eyebrows raised, the small feline blinked at the answer. He decided to try again. “Tell me your wife’s real name.”

“Carrots,” the fox replied with a smirk.

All the margay could manage to do was return a blank stare, “Carrots?”

Before Felisky could say more, a small mammal kicked the dirty window open, gracefully landed near him, rolled onto the floor between himself and his captive, wearing a completely ragged and dirty purple dress, angry green eyes, wavy white hair bouncing against her brow, and assumed a fighting stance.

* * *

Judy and Brian quietly treaded among the sides of the warehouses. The timberwolf took point while the bunny followed closely behind.

“The scent is getting stronger,” Brian said referring to the blood. “I think it’s that run-down two story building over there.”

He was eyeing the old cricket packaging warehouse at the end of the no longer functioning commercial cul de sac that looked ready to fall apart. The signage outside was so worn that the name and logo were faded and unreadable. 

Kneeling down, Brian faced Judy with a question, “Judy, how are we going to stop them? If we get spotted, you said all it takes is him speaking to either of us and it could be over.”

“I’m not sure,” she pondered. “We don’t have any ear plugs with us. I tried stuffing pieces of my dress in my ears at the Hotel but it didn’t muffle my hearing enough. I was able to help Nick by having him listen to my voice instead but I don’t think that’ll work for us. And there’s that large tiger with him too.” Before she could say more, her ears shot up at some strange flapping sounds she had never heard before above their heads. “What’s that? Is somebody there?”

The bunny and wolf looked above their heads and noticed a small silhouette glide among the rooftops. 

Brian spooked and drew his tranq gun, “Something or someone is up there.”

Judy put a paw on his arm to lower the weapon and spoke softly to the sky, “Hello? Is anyone there?”

To their surprise a small head peeked over the edge of the rusty gutter. Judy was startled but also fascinated by the sight in front of her. It was a brown furry mammal with dark eyes, large orange scleras, and black bushy eyebrows. The overall size and shape of the mammal reminded her of Finnick with the tiny body, large head, and even larger ears. It had no arms, only leathery wings, with a single claw for a thumb. She had never seen a bat before.

The bat scampered to the edge of the gutter, gripped it, and hung himself upside down. He blinked rapidly at the two mammals below him before speaking in a youthful sounding high pitched voice, “Who’re you?”

Judy waved a paw and continued to speak softly, “Hi. My name is Judy. And this is Brian. What’s your name?”

“Timothy. But my friends call me Timmy,” came the shy reply.

“It’s nice to meet you Timothy. What are you doing out here?”

The small bat looked around, “Promise you won’t tell my parents?”

Judy smiled, “I promise.”

“Okay… they tell us to stay away from this old area but I just like to come here sometimes with my friends and play.”

“That sounds like a lot of fun. But it’s also good to listen to your parents. You never know what could happen out here,” Judy spoke gently with clasped paws.

“Are you playing with your friends too? I saw three other mammals go to the old warehouse at the end. They were kinda funny looking,” the bat asked warming up to the friendly rabbit.

Judy and Brian exchanged glances. Now they had confirmation that it was just Nick, Felisky, and the tiger. Suddenly, the little bat dropped from the roof and slowly fluttered to the ground right in front of Judy. He looked up at her with curious eyes, having never seen a real rabbit before either.

“Do you want to play?” he asked the bunny and spread his wings. Judy suddenly noticed a small blue music player clipped onto his navy shirt with a pair of headphones. Her eyes widened with a new revelation.

“Sure Timmy! Say, are we friends?” she bent down, placing her paws on her knees, and smiled.

He pondered the question for a moment, “Of course.”

“That’s great! Do you have a phone by chance?” Judy asked.

“No, just this music player I got for my birthday,” he replied.

It was a long shot but Judy posed a question to the little guy, “Well, can I ask you for a really big favor, Timmy? You see, our friends and I, are playing cops and bullies and two of them are pretending to bully my friend. And, as bullies, they have to say really mean words. But, I don’t like really mean words. If I could borrow your music player, I could listen to your music so I can help my friend! What do you say? Please?”

Timmy stared at the ground for a moment and unhooked the small device and held it up, “Okay.”

The bunny gasped in happiness as she took the music player and hugged the little bat, “Thank you so much, Timmy. I promise to give it right back. Could you stay back here and be our lookout? You can be an honorary Junior ZPD Officer! Okay?”

“Sure thing, Miss Judy,” he said excitedly while hopping on his tiny feet.

“Great!” she happily said while standing up and clipping the player beneath her torn dress, ran the tiny headphones along the inside of the ruined dress, and into her ears.

They waved goodbye as the little mammal flew back up to the rooftops. 

“Real smooth thinking there, Judy,” the timberwolf complimented.

Judy smiled and they creeped towards the side of the warehouse. They peeked around the corner and saw the tiger pacing around the main entryway in the low blue light of the cavern crystals.

“Nick and Felisky must be inside. What’s the plan, Judy?” Brian asked.

“Do you think you can take on that tiger, Brian?” she asked with a hint of concern for his safety. 

“I’ll manage it. I won’t be able to do anything about the margay anyway. That’s all you Judy,” he smiled.

“Okay. Lift me up to the second floor. I saw a window over there,” she said.

Brian lifted her up while turning his head away to maintain a level of proper decency. Judy hopped up the remaining distance and stalked her way towards the small office window. The timberwolf drew his tranquilizer gun and grabbed some gravel. Taking a deep breath, he threw the tiny rocks against the side, creating a small commotion that caught the tiger’s attention. The timberwolf saw him draw his own weapon and cautiously approach his location. Brian backed up to better position himself for the ambush.

Judy tip-toed lightly, reaching the dirty office window, and peeked inside. She gasped when she spotted Nick tied to a wall pipe. The blue light revealed the caked blood on his snout and his face looked bruised under his ruffled fur. Felisky was sitting right in front of him, engaged in conversation with the fox. If a bunny could ever snarl, Judy came close, as her ears fell back and she glared at the small feline below her. 

Regaining some composure she perked her ears to listen to their conversation while waiting for an opportunity to strike. She then noticed Nick lock eyes with her before returning his gaze to Felisky. Judy readied herself and waited. Her ears twitched.

“What is your real name?”

“Daniel Ryan Pawson.”

“Tell me your wife’s real name.”

“Carrots.”

“Carrots?”

The bunny punched the music player on and cranked the volume up. The earsplitting music was painful but it drowned out all outside noise around her. She kicked the window, dove in, gracefully landing into a roll, positioning herself in front of Nick, and assumed a fighting stance.

With her back turned to Nick, the fox noticed a small square bulge underneath her dress, right above her tail, and the headphones wire that ran up the back of her neck. A wicked smirk formed on his lips. “Sly bunny,” he whispered to himself.

Felisky momentarily froze at the sudden appearance of a furious Elena Pawson bobbing and weaving towards him. Not noticing the headphones because Judy lowered her ears behind her head, he snarled at the bunny, “How in...? Stop right where you are, Elena!”

Judy’s reply was a dash followed by a clean right straight into the margay’s sensitive nose which caused him to stumble backwards and cause his eyes to tear up. Not hesitating with a follow up, she was already back in his face, with a superb left kick to his exposed gut which slammed him into the desk. The bunny finished the combo with a right hook knocking the feline onto the cold dusty floor. 

Even Nick was a little bit taken back watching the one sided brawl with wide eyes. He made a mental note to himself to never make Judy this angry. Felisky quickly recovered, removed his suit jacket, and threw it to the ground. Catching his breath as he wiped away blood flowing down his muzzle, the margay bared his tiny fangs and spread his sharp claws.

“Do you think I have never had to fend for my own life, rabbit? I will show you how we grapple in the South,” he growled.

The bunny watched his mouth move but couldn’t lip read. All she knew, was that this feline was tougher than he looked, and she readied herself. The two small mammals circled around one another in the small office space, testing the other’s reaction with feints and provoking gestures. 

The frustrated feline attempted to stop the bunny in her tracks again, “Kindly drop your guard and stop this nonsense, Elena.”

No response to his persuasion. Judy continued to circle and dance, her eyes full of focus and determination. A duck here and a weave there, one of them reached too far, and the exchange of punches and kicks recommenced.

While he had full confidence in Judy, Nick couldn’t stand being unable to help. He painfully tugged at the ropes binding his paws to the pipe. With a growl of his own, he decided the hell with it, and began biting on the dirty rope, attempting to chew his way through. The rope was too thick. Realizing Judy wouldn’t be able to hear him and get distracted, it was back to using his best weapon, his silver tongued fox mouth.

As the fight continued, each mammal landed strikes against the other, Judy took a hook to the cheek and returned the favor with a straight left jab to his chin. A scratch connected to her left arm as she blocked. The margay swatted away a kick. They came in close and Felisky attempted a bite, only to be met with a neck roll and a headbutt from Judy. 

“Oh… she got you good there, Art. You should try this thing called ducking. I hear it works wonders.”

Felisky grit his fangs trying not to listen to the foul fox pinned to the wall. A mix of adrenaline and rage took over, leading to more furious striking between the small predator and prey mammals.

“Seriously, who taught you to throw a punch? My grandma could fight better than you! Did you know she made a real mean clam chowder?”

The angered margay attempted a lunge but Judy rolled backwards, double kicked him over her, and sent him flying into the wall near Nick. Seeing an opportunity, Nick stretched out and kicked the back of the feline’s leg as he stood, causing him to buckle on one knee, while Judy swung in with a high left kick and sent Felisky flying towards the open office doorway. 

“Did that hurt? That one looked like it hurt!”

Grunting and clutching his face, the margay attempted to drag himself up and staggered towards the large dark storage space where he might get a better advantage. Judy hopped in pursuit and double kicked him in the back, sending him flying even further face down against the concrete floor.

The bunny cautiously approached her target, ready to subdue him, when he turned to his elbows and looked past her. Felisky began to laugh. This caused Judy to momentarily pause. Nick was straining against the rope, trying to watch from inside the office when he suddenly saw the situation, “Elena! Carrots! Turn around! Carrots!”

With the music still blocking all sound, Judy was unaware of the tiger, as he grabbed her with both large paws. She yelped in surprise as he lifted her effortlessly off the ground and she tried to struggle out of his grasp.

“Two against one is not so sportsmanlike is it, Elena? How the tables have turned. Now, let us see just how ugly we can make that pretty face of yours,” the margay grinned as he attempted to stand.

Now it was Felisky’s turn to be shocked again as a bloodied gray timberwolf suddenly leapt out of the shadows at the larger tiger and placed Tony into a brutal choke hold. Refusing to let Judy go, his grasp loosened enough, allowing her to squirm and turn herself around and violently kick the large feline in the gut and then as she was released, the bunny kicked him in the groin. All three mammals toppled onto the floor in a furry pile. With the air knocked out of the tiger’s lungs, Brian choked harder, and managed to subdue Tony into complete submission.

The timberwolf and bunny attempted to stand together when she suddenly noticed Brian freeze up. A blank stare appeared on his face. Judy realized what was happening. She attempted to lunge at Felisky, only to be seized once again, this time by the throat.

Nick watched in horror as he continued to yank on the rope, “Nose, buddy… snap out of it! Come on Nose! Listen to my voice!” It wasn’t working. “C’mon pal, focus on anything else… something important to you! Nose!”

“Hmm. The bartender? No matter.” The margay observed and then looked towards the office, glaring at Nick through the doorway. “Your rabbit is quite the fighter, my friend.” Felisky finally noticed the earbuds when Judy’s ear’s lifted from panic. “How clever of you Elena. But tonight you both lose. I hope you enjoy watching this, Daniel. Nose, is it? Would you kindly rip her throat out,” Felisky ordered.

“Oh, no… no… no!” Nick yelled.

Just as Brian’s bared fangs were moving closer to Judy’s neck, he stopped, and his ears shot up.

There was only one thing Nick could think to do. He howled.

The margay turned in disbelief towards the office again, “What are you doing?”

The fox continued to howl again as loudly as his voice allowed. Suddenly, Brian let go of Judy and went into a howl of his own. As she fell, the bunny pushed off the gray timberwolf, landed on all fours, and leapt straight at the unsuspecting margay. Before Felisky could turn to face the approaching rabbit, Judy jumped with all the strength her strong bunny legs could muster and roundhoused the offending small feline square in the jaw with a roaring grunt, dislocating it, and sent him flying.

Before her adrenaline wore off, she immediately shredded two more strips of her poor dress off, kneeled down, and proceeded to bind and gag their target, before finally breathing a heavy sigh of relief. She turned off the music player and pulled out the headphones. 

“Arthur Elliott Felisky, please exercise the right to remain silent,” Judy hissed.

Brian finally stopped his howl and came to his senses, his mind catching up and becoming horrified at what could have happened, “Oh my god, are you okay? I’m so sorry… I’m…” He raised his paws up to his gasping mouth with a horrified and tearful expression.

The bunny quickly hugged her friend to calm him, “Hey… It’s okay. We did it. Thanks to our clever fox.”

“Yeah,” he spoke quietly and hugged this impressive little mammal back. “Speaking of said fox, he’s waiting. Go on, I’ll check on our tiger friend over there.”

Judy hopped quickly back into the office and leapt on top of Nick. She squeezed her partner so hard he felt his ribs ache. Nick enjoyed a hearty victory laugh as he hunched over, closed his eyes, and placed his chin between her ears, over Judy’s fake little fluffy white hair wig. 

She lightly sobbed some tears of joy into his neck and whispered, “Oh, Nick… I was so worried… I thought the worst… you, dumb, crazy, clever, fox…”

“Oh, you bunnies. Are you trying to take advantage of me while I’m all tied up? Is that what this is?” the fox teased his partner.

Nick heard Judy laugh and everything in his world was right again. 

Brian found some rope and binded Tony’s paws behind his back. Searching the tiger’s pockets, he found Nick’s phone and reinserted the battery. He called Precinct Two’s Dispatch and reported their status and location. Turning to the office, he saw Nick and Judy embraced. A joyous smile formed on his bloodied snout. 

Within minutes, blaring sirens were heard and flashing lights lit up the cavern as police cruisers and MBI vehicles spilled into the abandoned commercial block. Coltson and Bogo arrived on the scene along with medical buses for the injured mammals.

Arthur Elliott Felisky and Tony Kot were rounded up and properly detained. A special type of muzzle was placed on the margay. After the EMT’s cleared him of his injuries, the MBI agents moved their apprehended suspects, supervised by Coltson, to a special unmarked van and drove off.

The three heroic officers were sitting in their own bus as medical staff treated their cuts, scrapes, and bruises. Judy was given a comfy blanket to cover herself with. Chief Bogo soon appeared alongside them.

“Officers. How are you three holding up?” Bogo asked with a rare softness to his voice.

“Happy we made it, Chief. We got the bad guy,” Judy smiled with pride while glancing between the fox and timberwolf to her left and right.

“Doing better now, Sir. Thank you,” Brian replied.

“I always knew you did care, Sir,” came the snarky comment from Nick.

Chief Bogo put a hoof to his forehead, listening to the snickers of several other officers behind him, before running his hoof down his face. He pretended to glare at Nick and decided to have a bit of fun at his expense, “Hopps. Since I doubt Wilde will listen to me, tell your lesser half to save the commentary for one night.”

Judy slightly blushed at the mention of lesser half and gently nudged Nick with her elbow. Nick’s eyes widened for a moment before becoming quiet.

“I also want to inform you that Fangmeyer, Trunkaby, Wolfard, and McHorn are okay and recovering. We also apprehended the other three accomplices and intercepted another unmarked vehicle that was enroute to this location,” the Chief continued.

They were overjoyed to hear the news about their fellow officers and that none of the other suspects escaped.

“Officer Ardwulf. I want to thank you for your exemplary assistance in this case. We could not have done this without you. I will be sure to put in a good word to your Chief and the Mayor. Precinct Two should be proud to have an officer such as yourself,” the cape buffalo praised.

“Thank you, Chief Bogo,” Brian saluted.

“And you two.” Bogo addressed his smallest two officers and actually smiled. “We cannot publicly discuss this classified case but you both will be given outstanding marks and commendations for your service. I will personally inform the Mayor and speak with the Director of the MBI.” Bogo paused for a moment and crossed his arms. “Now don’t let this go to your heads either. I expect nothing less from either of you. Good work, Officers.”

The fox and bunny exchanged glances. Everyone sat in shocked silence at the rare praise. But not Nick. He just had to try to be a dumb fox.

“Sir, I would just like to say for the record that...” he began with a pointed finger.

“You will shut it right now, Wilde!” Bogo interrupted.

“Yup… shutting up, right now.”

The brief exchange allowed some laughter amongst the group before it was broken up by the presence of Agent Coltson approaching the medical bus. All eyes shot unfriendly glances in his direction.

He turned to specifically address Nick and Judy, “I must say good work, Officers Hopps and Wilde. This operation could have gone smoother but I’ll take what I can get. I also hope that Officer Hopps didn’t permanently injure our target. We still need to extract valuable information from him. But no matter, he will never see the light of day or speak directly to another mammal ever again. I guarantee that. Regardless...”

Judy’s mouth hung open while Nick actually glared at the offensive horse. Brian sat frowning with flattened ears. Before any of them could speak up, Chief Bogo cut off the pompous clydesdale.

“Shut your big mouth, Coltson! Is this how you thank the Officers, whom you recruited, who risked their lives to bring in a suspect that you and your agency were incapable of doing yourselves? I don’t want to hear another word out of you,” Bogo attacked with flared nostrils and a nasty scowl.

“Chief Bogo, as the agent in charge of this operation, if you insist on this belligerent attitude, I will report you to the Director and the Mayor…”

Coltson never got to finish his statement before Bogo slammed a fist into the door of the medical bus and got right into the horse’s face, glaring down just inches from his eyes. 

He replied with a low menacing tone, “I look forward to hearing from your Director, Coltson, so I can send him my own report about you.” The cape buffalo paused and jabbed a hoof right into the clydesdale’s chest. “And for the record. You will do everything in your power to safeguard my Officer’s identities and information. Because if any harm comes to them, due to any retaliation or negligence on your part, I will make sure you personally pay. You will also compensate all medical expenses of every innocent civilian who was injured during this mission. Do I make myself clear?”

There was a brief silence. Coltson was sweating and Nick even noticed him tremble for a moment. “Crystal clear,” he replied with a gulp.

Satisfied, Chief Bogo backed away, placed his hooves behind his back, and addressed the group. “Good. We are done here officers. Reports can wait till tomorrow. Get some rest. Let’s go.”

The horse quickly trotted away. 

“Wow, what a jerk,” Brian said as he leaned forward to watch Coltson leave with his tail between his hind legs.

“Speaking of jerks,” Nick began. “Sorry for making you howl back there, Nose. I didn’t know what else to do. And thanks for finding me, buddy. I owe you a month’s supply of Hopps Family Farm blueberries.”

Brian chuckled, “Wow, really? I finally get to try some? In that case, how about two month’s worth?”

Nick crossed his arms and smirked, “Now you’re just milking it.”

Judy simply rolled her eyes at the boys and smiled, “Don’t worry Brian, I’ll make sure this stingy fox shares the next batch with you.”

The fox pretended to look offended while the timberwolf gave a big smirk of his own.

She hopped down from the bus. The bunny had caught sight of little Timmy, still hanging around the rooftops, mesmerized by all of the real police activity.

“Hey, where are you going Officer Fluff?” Nick called out after her.

The bunny turned around waving the small music player in her paw, “I have to go return this to a friend!”

* * *

The morning came and the seven officers arrived at Precinct One to finish their case reports for the mission. There was a mix of emotions as they began to recover and heal from the ordeal. After finishing with their reports and meeting with Chief Bogo, the small group enjoyed a long lunch together, feeling much better from the support of each other’s camaraderie and solidarity for this crazy case they shared, before everyone departed to get more rest. Chief’s orders.

Judy happily exchanged contact information with Brian, thrilled to have made a new friend. The fox and bunny waved goodbye to the small gray timberwolf as he departed for Precinct Two. They remained at the station for a while longer. Coltson actually managed to send them special commendations of service from the Director of the MBI, along with Nina and Wilbur’s styling teams, to help begin removing their fake appearances. Once they finished, Nick and Judy headed back to Nick’s apartment for the remainder of the afternoon.

Nick stepped onto the floor built fur dryer after finishing his shower. The warm air tickled through his red fur while he toweled his head, snout, and ears. He was thankful to change back into his usual attire, dressing himself in his green pawaiian collared shirt and the violet tie. Lazily tossing the towel on his bed, his eyes fell onto the new shiny object lying on his nightstand. 

Picking up the polished foreign silver coin he pickpocketed from Felisky’s coat before the evidence crew had swept the warehouse, he thumbed it a few times in his paw. The front had an interesting coat of arms: two paws shaking hands before a rising sun surrounded by a wreath.

The fox wasn’t sure why he took it. Perhaps because he was able to understand the ugly place the margay came from. A place he had seen himself. Flipping it over once more, he noticed there was a finely scratched name on the backside of the coin. It read ‘Olivia’. The fox mulled over who that might be and what kind of promise Felisky made with this coin. He held it up, made a new promise with it, and set it back down.

Picking up his freshly washed red handkerchief, he caressed the old fabric with his thumb, before stuffing it into his right pocket and returning to the living room. 

The bunny had been sitting unusually quiet at the end of the large navy sofa, chin on one paw, contemplating everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours while staring out at the downtown buildings through the sliding glass patio door. Her original fur color wasn’t completely restored yet. It would take a few more showers before the remaining dye would disappear. 

“Boy, am I sure glad to look like me again,” Nick said stepping out of his bedroom before noticing Judy’s solemn expression. She briefly eyed the fox for a moment with a small smile then stared at nothing in particular in front of her.

He quietly frowned and sauntered over to her. “Carrots, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” came the meek reply.

Scanning her face, he saw how she kept her eyes downcast and her ears were drooped. Nick nudged the coffee table off to the side, kneeled down, and leaned on his elbow in front of her so they could be more eye level. He normally wouldn’t pry but it pained him to see her like this.

“Carrots.”

She closed her eyes and sighed, “I just can’t help but feel how lucky we got this time, Nick. So many of us could have been badly hurt or killed last night. All those innocent civilians, Fangmeyer, McHorn, Brian… you. How can a mammal like him exist and commit such terrible acts with no remorse?

Her partner continued to listen while looking at her sullen expression.

Judy paused for a moment before continuing, “I’m sorry Nick. I’m just being a dumb emotional bunny right now. You were the one who pushed me out of the way and got taken instead. How are you holding up? Are you really okay? I can’t imagine what you went through…” she reached out to hold his paw.

The fox’s heart ached from watching her suffer. Not once did she mention herself in any of this. Her heart cared for her fellow officers, for all those mammals who suffered from Felisky’s actions, and for him. He would be damned if he was going to sit here and let her brightness dim. Not even for a second.

“I’ve had my share of hairy situations in the past. And I don’t mean my old rug business,” he joked.

The lighthearted humor managed to produce a small, weak chuckle from Judy, but ultimately didn’t shift her current mood. 

“Fluff.” He tried again while lowering his face further to meet her eyes.

His partner’s eyes continued to avoid his.

“Judy,” he spoke again softly.

Her large eyes suddenly met his. She was still amazed how strongly she always responded when Nick would speak her actual name. There was something special about it. The face in front of her spoke volumes with his kind thoughtful bright eyes and wonderful smile.

“Can the world be an ugly place? Yes. Yes, it can. But that’s why the world needs someone like you… to believe in it and make it better. And you did that by stopping that terrible feline. He’ll never hurt anyone ever again.” Nick paused for a moment, drew a little closer, and whispered in her ear, “And you’re not a dumb bunny… never lose what makes you so special.”

There had been no hint of snark, con talk, or typical Nick Wilde attitude, his tone was gentle and sincere.

Judy’s eyes lit up and she pushed herself off the couch straight into Nick, knocking him over with that deceptive strength of her’s, while she buried her head into his chest and wrapped her arms around his scruffy neck. Nick simply smirked, placing one large paw around her petite back, and the other behind her lowered ears. The fox and bunny shared the comforting embrace for several quiet moments.

There was no where else Judy wanted to be. Those kindhearted words melted away her moment of sorrow. She squeezed Nick even tighter.

The bunny looked up at the fox with renewed lively eyes, “I’ll try. But only if I have you by my side.”

With a tender smile and a reassuring nod, Nick rolled both of them forward, off the floor, and loosened his hold on Judy, helping her stand. He sat cross legged and leaned forward on his legs.

“So… I was thinking… how about we go load up on some ice cream from that really fancy new creamery down the street and rent a bunch of bad movies today? Sound like fun?” came the suggestion followed by the trademark smirk.

Judy pondered the idea, “That sounds wonderful. But I get to pick the movies.”

“Are you questioning my taste in bad films?” he said playing the mock offended card.

“Just like I question your taste in bad clothes,” she teased him.

The fox smiked while he got off the floor, and grabbed his keys. Once they were outside in the hallway, he locked his door, and leaned against the wall. 

“How about a bet?” he asked in a mischievous tone.

“I know that smirk, Slick… what kind of bet?” she dared him with crossed arms.

“Well, how about if we…” and suddenly he jerked his head to his right, eyes wide, as if he spotted something on the wall.

Judy instinctively followed his gaze and turned her head in the same direction, looking around the wall in confusion. Her ears perked at the sounds of frantic and fading footsteps. Growling at the fact that she fell for this trickery again, she immediately pivoted on her foot.

Nick sprinted down the hallway as fast as he could run. “Last one there has to buy the ice cream!” His tail vanished out of sight, down the flight of stairs.

“Hey! You rascal! You are NOT going to win!” yelled the gullible bunny as she bolted after that sly fox.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The longest chapter written so far! And I was worried it might end up short when I started, lol. Readers, I hope you enjoy the finale of this crazy case and find it satisfactory. (so many dialogue and section rewrites!) Also Agro-Bun is the best bun. Do not stand between a determined and angry bunny and her fox! 
> 
> We will now return to our regularly scheduled WildeHopps slow burn. Chapter 11 is going to contain all kinds of goodies and a few surprises.
> 
> Spoiler Alert: I think we all know who really ends up paying for that ice cream. :P


	11. Game of Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A return to life on the beat after the Palm Hotel & Casino case, some fluffy shenanigans, and Nick and Judy enjoy a night out with friends along with a few surprises.

Judy finished cuffing their perp, a weasel in a dark red shirt with a pink flower lapel, named Dribs, and began to read him his Miranda Rights. He was caught stealing several cartons of Sunflower Soda from a local Molebil gas station in Savanna Central.

“Dribs, you have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to…” she trailed off as the bunny escorted him and put the weasel into the back of their police cruiser after she finished informing him of his rights.

The high-strung weasel was mildly fidgeting and raving nonsense, “Don’t you believe me, Officer? UFO’s are controlling the prices of Sunflower Soda! We have to do something about it! If we don’t, we could all be…”

Dribs never got to finish his whacky statement before Judy finished locking him inside the backseat while slamming the cruiser door shut, placed her paws on her hips, and rolled her eyes in a mix of astonishment and amusement.

“Can you believe what he’s saying, Nick?” she asked her partner who was finishing with checking the crime scene behind her.

“I believe it. Have you seen the prices of these six-packs, Carrots? Outrageous!” he replied with his usual smug grin while holding up the stolen sodas.

Sighing, her ears twitched to the sounds of light squishing noises. Judy turned around and crossed her arms while mildly glaring at Nick.

“Nick, will you stop squeezing the evidence. Seriously, what is it with you and touching everything soft or fluffy?”

The fox gave her his usual mock ‘look at me I’m offended’ face and continued to squeeze the large goofy yellow smiley muzzle stress ball in his other paw. 

“But it’s so fun. It’s also good for stress relief, I’ll have you know. Besides, I appreciate the little things in life, Officer Fluff,” he declared while shooting her a particular look as he stressed the words ‘little things’ and ‘Officer Fluff’, and kept squeezing the squishy ball, much to his delight and his partner’s ire.

Judy sighed again, though secretly happy with Nick’s playfulness, as she shook her head, walked up to him, holding out her transparent evidence bag, and jiggled it. “And now it’s time for you to appreciate a little thing called work. Put it back in the bag, Slick,” she ordered.

Nick pretended to make a sad face and complied, tossing the stress ball into the bag. “No fun at all.”

Smiling at her partner, she zipped the bag up, helped him pack the stolen sodas, and jumped into the driver’s seat of Z-240. It felt good to be back on the beat after Chief Bogo let them have a few more days off to recover from the ordeal of the undercover case with Felisky. For their first day back, catching a small time thief like Dribs was a nice transition to get back into the swing of normal police work.

Judy had spent the majority of that off duty time with Nick and it immensely helped to lift her spirits back up. However, to her mild embarrassment, she had fallen asleep at his apartment a couple times again, but each time Nick had carried her to his bed, and taken the couch for himself without a single complaint.

Heading back to the station, she glanced over at Nick, who already donned his aviators and was thumbing through some cheap tabloid they found on Dribs, in total amusement. Judy found herself eyeing his smiling muzzle a little too long before returning her eyes to the road. After a few moments, Nick broke the silence.

“Wow. They sure print anything these days. Listen to this… savage Wolpertinger terrorizing the Tri-Burrows at night. Dozens of reported sightings. WIll pay ten thousand bucks for pictures or video proof.” He flipped the article over and held it up so Judy could see the artist rendition of the crazy bunny creature. “This is what you’d look like if you had fangs, antlers, and bird wings, Carrots.”

“Come on, Nick…” she playfully shoved the tabloid away, but still stole a glance out of curiosity. “And… that’s kinda creepy.” She raised an eyebrow while making a weirded out look on her face.

“Oh! I know what we can do… let’s go stop by a costume party store, dress you up, and have a photo shoot in a park. Easiest ten thousand we could ever hustle,” he teased her with a wink. “I think you could make it work and look convincing. Might still be too cute though.”

“Absolutely not!” Judy pointed a finger at her partner.

“Fine. I’ll just get Finn to do it,” the fox countered as he turned another page and waited for her reaction.

“Nick!” Judy said with a hint of amusement in her voice and glared at him.

“Eyes on the road, boss.” he chided her with a smile while she quickly diverted her focus back to driving as the cruiser began to drift in the lane. Nick noticed she didn’t directly reprimand him for indirectly calling her cute this time.

“Irritating fox,” she growled with drooped ears.

“Mean bunny,” Nick playfully shot back, waving the small tabloid at her, before returning to look for more ridiculous articles.

They arrived at the station, booked Dribs, turned over the evidence, the stolen merchandise, his belongings, and finished their case reports. By the end of their shift, her partner had even managed to surprise visit Chief Bogo in his office and irritate him by asking what happened with the one hundred-eighty million dollar pot from the poker tournament and if he was allowed to even keep a tiny sliver of those winnings. Nick was promptly chased out of the office followed by deafening shouts and curses from the cape buffalo that filled the hallway, gathering the attention of several other officers. Judy couldn’t help but laugh and glare at Nick for his audacity. 

Outside of the ZPD entryway, the bunny hugged her fox partner goodbye and they parted ways. Nick headed south towards his apartment, while Judy went north to her’s. A part of her wanted to spend more time with Nick, another part told her to not overstay her welcome and give her best friend his time and space as well.

On her way into the Grand Pangolin Arms apartment building, she greeted Mrs. Dharma, the armadillo landlady, and entered her tiny apartment. While Judy still liked her little space in the city, it was nothing compared to being at Nick’s home. She actually found herself already missing it. After changing into a pink striped shirt with pink leggings, and eating a semi-bland microwave dinner, her phone rang with a familiar ringtone. It was her parents calling.

The bunny picked up her phone and clicked on the MuzzleTime option. Bonnie Hopps’ smiling face appeared on the screen.

“Hey, there’s my girl! We haven’t heard from you in a few days, sweetheart.” Bonnie greeted with a sweet motherly tone.

“Hi Mom.” Judy answered. “I’m sorry I haven’t called, it’s just been a crazy couple of days and…” Judy rubbed the back of her neck and changed the subject. “How are you and Dad doing?”

“Hey there, Jude the Dude!” Stu’s smiling face suddenly popped in from the left side when he heard Judy over the speakers. “We’re doing great hun. You keeping safe out there?”

“Yes, Dad.” Judy smiled back.

Before Bonnie could reply, an older and crabby sounding voice interrupted her from offscreen. Her mom turned the phone to reveal Otto Hopps, Judy’s grandfather, who also lived with Bonnie and Stu at the Hopps Family burrow. He was sitting in a large red reclining chair next to a table full of empty dinner plates, holding his cane, surrounded by a few of Judy’s younger siblings, who busied themselves with their phones, playing with bunny dolls, or drawing doodles.

“Bon, is that Trudy? Ask her if she’s been eaten yet?” he said while waving a finger in the air and then adjusting his large spectacles.

Bonnie rolled her eyes at her father-in-law before answering, “Oh, for goodness sake! No one’s gotten eaten, Pop-Pop. And it’s Judy, not Trudy.”

“Well, tell her she needs to watch out for predators in the big city. Like foxes. They are red because they were made by the devil!” Otto exclaimed.

“Oh dear…” Bonnie sighed as she turned the phone away from her father-in-law and focused back on her daughter.

It took a lot of effort for Judy not to frown or say something. She loved her Grandpa. She didn’t even mind that he occasionally mixed up her name, it was to be expected when he was one hundred and one years old and had over one thousand grandkits, but listening to that offensive statement about foxes really bothered and hurt her now. Judy could only imagine what Nick would think if he were to overhear this conversation.

“Anyway, like your father said, we’re doing great, sweetheart,” Bonnie was finally able to answer. However, she paused for a moment, while inspecting Judy’s image on the phone a little more closely. “Judy, did you do something with your fur?”

The younger bunny’s fur was still lighter than normal with traces of the cream color still tinting her gray fur and ear tips.

Judy’s eyes snapped wider, ears shot up, as she nervously patted herself, “Oh, this!? It’s nothing… just…”

“Are you okay? Are you sick? Do you need me to come out there?” Bonnie asked as her levels of concern spiked and she suddenly yelled to the side. “Stu! Pack the car!”

“No! I’m good, Mom… I’m good,” Judy pleaded with a reassuring voice. “We just had a very… well, an undercover case recently. I’m actually not allowed to talk about it… but you don’t have to worry.”

Her mom calmed down and smiled with pride at her daughter, “Yeah? You out there making the world a better place once more?”

“Yup. We’re really making a difference,” Judy quietly replied.

Bonnie tilted her head at the mention of the word ‘we’re’ before speaking again. “Was Nicholas there with you? Is he okay?”

Judy ran a paw behind her head and brushed her ears down before replying, “Yes, he was. And he’s okay too, Mom. I couldn’t have done it without him.”

Her mom noticed how her daughter shifted and spoke those words softly. “I’m happy you have a good friend like him with you there, sweetheart.”

“Me too,” Judy whispered. She paused for a moment before adding, “Chief Bogo even praised us this time.”

“Good for you both, Bun-Bun. I mean, not that I didn’t think you’d make it so far, it’s just… you’re doing something I never thought a bunny could do.” Bonnie said with a beaming smile. “Guess all you needed was a chance to prove yourself. We’re so proud of you.”

“Yeah,” Judy replied with joy.

“You keep making chances for yourself and tell Nicholas hello from us, okay?”

“I will, Mom. He really loves those extra blueberries you keep packing for him,” the bunny smiled.

Bonnie smiled back before Stu’s muzzle suddenly appeared once more in front of her, “Stay safe out there, Jude. I love ya honey. Very much.”

“I love you guys too,” Judy replied with a tender tone, bringing the phone closer.

“Goodnight Bun-Bun,” Bonnie farewelled before hitting the end call button.

Judy placed her phone facedown on her desk and leaned back in her desk chair. The picture frames on her bedside wall rattled, as a familiar voice projected through the paper thin walls. It was her oryx neighbor, Pronk.

“Hey Bunny, we’re glad you’re okay. You were gone for awhile.”

“Maybe being undercover was code for spending time with her boyfriend.”

“You don’t know that. She is a real cop you know.”

“Oh shut up!”

“You shut up!”

Judy slapped both paws over her eyes and ran them down her flushed face, “Nick is my partner and best friend, guys!”

“Yeah? Well, you sure spend a lot of time with him,” Bucky said.

“She did go to meet his Mom too,” Pronk added.

The bunny had no response for Bucky or Pronk regarding those truths.

Later that night, Judy was lying on her bed, over the covers, in the dark, still dressed in her casual clothes. Heavy eyelids were signaling it was time to fall asleep now. Her meandering mind had been thinking about the earlier conversation with her mom and then her neighbors’ commentary.

After staring at the dark ceiling for a few moments, she reached over to pick up one of her rabbit plushies, the one with the blue shirt and junior ZPD officer badge. Judy hugged it tightly before rolling onto her side, curling up with the doll, and falling asleep with a small smile.

* * *

A few days passed and Judy’s fur finally returned to normal. The bunny skipped along the sidewalk, in her pink plaid shirt and jeans, with a bag of takeout food. She wanted to surprise Nick with some dinner from one of their favorite street vendors after an extra long shift today. And she had some news to share with him. Once at the door, she used her key to open it, and made her usual grand entrance with a big hop inside.

“Nick, I brought food!” Judy held up the takeout bag like it was a prize.

It was awfully quiet. She noticed the office door was half open and the sliding patio door was completely ajar. Judy went to close the apartment door with her foot but the push was too light. The door didn’t fully close and stayed partially open with a small slit. With raised eyebrows, she put the bag on the breakfast bar counter and peeked outside, nose twitching. There was her partner, fast asleep, wearing his sunglasses, both paws resting on his stomach, reclining on a new folding chair, with the setting sun basking his red fur with a soft glow. The longer shift and mountains of paperwork must have really drained him today.

Tapping her chin, she debated whether or not to wake him. After careful consideration and hoping he wasn’t going to get angry at her, she tip-toed up to him, gently poking his shoulder, and whispered near his ear, “Nick. Nick… wake up. It’s me. I brought some dinner for you. Nick!”

The fox’s ears twitched around before he stirred. With half open eyes, he spotted Judy, and immediately started, arms swooshing around, legs in the air, and nearly toppled over.

“Guh!” he huffed while trying to catch his balance and looking over at his petite best friend, “Carrots, I swear, do you take joy in scaring me on a regular basis?”

“I’m so sorry, Nick! I just wanted to come over and bring you dinner. I can leave if you want…” she was quick to apologize.

“What? No, no, no… it’s okay. I just didn’t think I’d doze off after I came out here to lounge for a few,” he stood with a big stretch.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes. Positive, Fluff. What did you bring me?” he asked clasping his paws together.

“Your favorite spicy cricket burrito from the vendor cart down the block!” she exclaimed.

“I could go for one of those,” he teased her with a nonchalant reply trying to play off how happy that actually made him.

Smiling, Judy went inside, while Nick followed her, and she began to fish out all of the food. As Nick was watching her, he suddenly noticed his office door was open, and his secret little project, along with a few other articles of clothing, were hanging in almost direct view. 

Glancing back over at Judy, she was preoccupied enough, that he began to quietly slink over so that he could shut the door before she noticed. Just as he got to it, the fox heard her call out after him, and he jumped.

“Nick? What are you doing?”

“I… um… just wanted to close the door. I like the way it makes the living room look,” he tried to play it off and shut it behind him.

Judy crossed her arms, “You know Nick, almost everytime I come over here, you keep coming out of the office or keep it closed. Are you working on something?”

Crap… he thought to himself before opening his mouth.

“No,” he lied.

Now Judy narrowed her eyes, thumped her foot, and smiled, “C’mon Slick. I’ve learned your little tells when you’re hiding something from me.”

Pretending to look baffled, he walked closer while placing his paws on his hips, “Is that so? What tells might those be?”

The bunny put her hands behind her back and see-sawed on her toes. “Oh… you know… your ears kinda flatten back ever so slightly and your tail makes this teensy tiny swish. Which is really surprising considering how well I’ve seen you keep a straight face and posture when you hustle.”

Nick simply stood there with big eyes and a raised brow. It reminded Judy of when she threatened him with tax evasion. It took all of her willpower not to laugh.

“Well, then... guess I’ve been caught red handed.” He playfully wiggled his dark red paws before attempting a half-truth with a better straight face. “I was working on a little something for Finn.”

Judy tilted her head and blurted out, “You’re not really doing the Wolpertinger thing, are you!?”

“What? No! I was joking about that you know.”

“Well… can I see what it is?” Judy walked up to him with a big goofy grin. She never had the chance to see Nick make anything from scratch yet. “Some new kind of costume?”

The deflection failed and seemed to only pique her curiosity. He was beginning to wonder where all of this extra energy and playfulness was coming from. And she didn’t seem to care if it was for a possible scheme or not.

Nick straightened up and put his paws behind his back. “Sorry, Carrots. Strictly Confidential!”

She advanced closer to him and attempted to sway him with her large violet eyes by fluttering her lashes, “Please, Nick!”

“No,” he said with a tone of finality and a pointed finger. “And for the record, if I could do that with my eyes, I would rule this city.”

“Then it’s a good thing you can’t!” she replied with half-lidded eyes.

Judy bit her lip. Nick picked up on her own tell, especially when he watched her eyes dart to the door and back. She attempted to make a leap for it but he was able to block her in time and catch her petite torso in mid-air.

“Carrots! Seriously, c’mon. I said no, you rabbit!”

“Nick, stop being such a skunk butt!”

“Oh, I’m being the skunk butt, huh?”

“Stop it!”

Before either one of them knew it, they stumbled around, Nick lost his balance, and they fell onto the floor with a dual yelp. The fox and bunny, now entangled in a mass of red and gray, were literally rolling around on the floor, with Nick trying to keep Judy pinned away from the office door, as she was fidgeting and squirming in his grasp.

“How… are you this… freakishly strong, Carrots?” he uttered while trying to keep a failing grip on his partner.

“Maybe... you need to… go to the gym more... lazy fox!” she blurted out while trying to get away.

“Hey!... I go... to the gym plenty... wriggly bunny!” he retorted.

“Nick!” she grunted back.

After several more moments of comical grappling, they suddenly froze in place with Nick right on top of Judy, as her ears shot straight, when they heard a soft set of footsteps rush to the barely cracked open front door, and a gasping elderly vixen hurriedly came inside with a worried expression, holding a large taser at the ready.

“Nicholas, are you alright!? The door was open and I heard sounds of… a… struggle…?”

“Mom!?” Nick said in complete shock looking up to see Mrs. Wilde standing above them.

All three mammals froze in place as if time stopped and everyone’s brains were slowly processing the situation at hand.

Once her initial shock was over, Mrs. Wilde was the first to react, letting herself have a hearty laugh, turning the taser off, placing her hands on her hips, and smirking in true Wilde fashion. There was her son with ruffled fur, messy tie, a button or two loosened on his shirt, propped up on his arms, over his bunny partner with her back on the floor. Judy’s shirt had even managed to hike up her midriff a little bit and lose a few buttons as well.

“I’m sorry for interrupting you two… I’ll just show myself out,” she smiled with a wink and began to head for the open door.

The two partners reacted in unison. Nick and Judy locked eyes in complete embarrassment and surprise, their noses mere inches from each other. His jaw fell wider, her nose twitched in rapid succession. The room felt like a sudden inferno and their beating hearts thumped in their chests. Nick immediately pushed himself off and Judy slid away. Both of them stood and waved their paws in the air frantically, speaking together.

“No, no, no! It’s not what you think…” they both stammered out simultaneously.

“Oh? What should I think then?” Mrs. Wilde teased them.

They both looked at one another with dread in their eyes like a pair of teenagers. Nick was scratching the back of his neck and patting his shirt down, while Judy nervously wrung her paws.

Nick was the first to speak up while gesturing awkwardly with his paws, “Well, uh… Carrots, was… just showing me… um, a new takedown technique… right?”

Judy’s mouth was open, she quickly nodded, and followed his lead, “Yup. They were… giving us some new training courses at work today… how to deal with mammals that get physical… with resisting arrest, I mean!”

“That’s right!” Nick ended while pointing a thumb between the two of them. “We’re just doing it again off-duty.” Realizing what he just said, he slapped a paw to his face. “Practicing! It makes perfect!” 

The latter didn’t sound any better so Nick just stopped before he dug his hole any deeper.

Mrs. Wilde looked like she didn’t believe a single thing they said as she crossed her arms with a raised brow and an impish smile. “Sure. Sure. I can come back another time.”

“Wait, Mom!”

“No, Mrs. Wilde! It’s okay. Really. Nick and I were actually about to eat dinner. I’m sure Nick wouldn’t mind if you stay over. Right?” Judy looked to Nick with a smile.

“Of course not,” he replied with both arms out. 

“In that case, let’s start over,” the vixen pointed out as she leaned down to Judy and greeted her with a warm hug. “It’s been awhile since I’ve seen you dear.”

“I missed you too, Mrs. Wilde.” the bunny hugged back.

“So, Mom, what brings you by today?” Nick asked.

“Remember I texted you yesterday that I will be in the area running errands and I might come by if you’re not busy?” she raised an eyebrow at her son.

“Oh, right… right… guess I forgot when I fell asleep after I got home,” he said with a sheepish half grin.

His mom rolled her eyes and walked over to give him a proper hug before saying more, “What are you two eating tonight?”

“Well, Carrots did bring me a spicy cricket burrito. Wanna split it?” Nick asked as he rounded the breakfast bar and held up the food.

“Sure, sweetheart, if it’ll still be enough for you?” she asked politely.

“Won’t be a problem, Mom. Oh, and nice taser by the way. Looks like one of those deluxe models. I’m glad you didn’t zap me with it.”

“Sometimes I carry it around when I like to go for walks in the evening. Just to be safe.” she replied. “And I would never taze you on accident, Nicholas.”

“That’s reassuring,” he smirked.

A nervous smile escaped Judy as she eyed the taser while Mrs. Wilde put it away in her purse. It reminded Judy of the one her dad tried to give her when she first left for the city. Looking over at Nick, he seemed to be pretty indifferent at the sight of it. She wondered if someone had ever actually threatened him with a fox taser before. Shaking off the frown that formed on her muzzle from that thought, Judy came back into the kitchen to help Nick set the plates.

Glancing back at the office door, Nick was thankful that the small awkward incident was forgotten and his little secret was still safe for now. He was going to need to be a lot more careful before the big day finally arrives. After setting out the utensils, he slyly excused himself to the bathroom, flushed the toilet to cover his ruse, snuck around the back way into the office, and hid his prize, before retracing his steps back into the living room to join Judy and his mom at the breakfast bar.

The two foxes and the bunny sat on the motorized stools, with Judy in the middle, happily enjoying their meals.

Mrs. Wilde decided to make some conversation after swallowing her next bite. “I read about another crazy high speed chase that happened near the Palm Hotel & Casino a few nights ago. It went all the way through Savanna Central and into the Rainforest District. Were you two involved in that?”

Nick and Judy shared a side glance. They both didn’t enjoy having to lie or keep certain aspects of their work away from their families for fear of constantly worrying them. She answered before Nick could say something, “No. We were actually working a different case that night.”

“Oh, thank goodness. Those chases can be so dangerous. I’m glad you two weren’t apart of that,” she smiled while leaning over to them both.

“Yeah, just a boring ol’ stakeout Mom. No excitement whatsoever. Never even saw our suspect. I almost fell asleep twice in our cruiser,” Nick lied through his teeth as he chimed in.

“Then I hope Judy pinched you awake,” Mrs. Wilde chided him.

“Mom…” Nick replied with an annoyed scowl.

His partner giggled. “Don’t worry Mrs. Wilde, Nick actually works really hard when he wants to. But… only about forty percent of the time. Or if you bribe him with sweets.”

“I’ll have you know it’s at least a cool sixty,” Nick added. “And how little you think of me, Officer Fluff.”

They all shared a laugh.

“I believe it.” The elder vixen then leaned closer to the bunny. “Judy, I need a favor from you.”

“Yes, Mrs. Wilde?”

“Please get Nick to take some nice photos of something or someone.” She particularly stressed the someone part. “I brought those picture frames over a while ago and they’re still empty,” Mrs. Wilde teased as she thumbed over her shoulder to the large bookshelf.

Judy leaned back so she could see the frames in question, “Oh! I was wondering about those.”

Now both women turned to stink eye Nick, who stopped mid chew from a fresh bite, to raise his eyebrows at the two pairs of green and violet eyes, playfully glaring at him.

“What?” he asked with a mouthful while shrugging with his arms. “I didn’t get around to it yet.”

Bouncing in her seat, Judy took her phone out excitedly. “How about we take one now? With the three of us?”

“See Nicholas. I like how Judy thinks,” his mother winked over.

Nick just sighed and slid off the stool ready to comply.

After snapping several shots, the vixen and bunny were looking through them to find the keeper. Once they found their favorite, Judy remembered a few photos she wanted to share.

“Oh, Mrs. Wilde… did you know Nick had to do parking duty one day for getting in trouble at the station? I have a really great photo of him in a meter maid outfit!” Judy informed her.

“Oh really?” His mother shot Nick an amused smirk. “Let me see it.”

Poor Nick had begun cleaning some dishes when he heard that and immediately swung around flinging dish soap everywhere. “What? Carrots! Don’t you dare show her that picture. Carrots!”

But it was too late. Mrs. Wilde made a stop right there gesture with her paw out to halt his advance. “Nicholas, calm down and stop splashing the soap like you're drowning in a waterhole.” 

Judy brought up the photo. His mother died of laughter.

The fox threw his arms up in the air and grumbled to himself about ‘no good bunny partners’ while going back to scrubbing a plate.

“I heard that,” Judy sing-songed to him.

“I know you did,” he growled back and continued cleaning.

Later, Judy and Mrs. Wilde helped put everything else away, and they all sat on the couch for a little while enjoying some drinks and dessert. After an hour of relaxing conversation, it was time for Mrs. Wilde to go before it became too late.

They were at the door, sharing farewell hugs with Mrs. Wilde, before she turned to leave.

“You sure you don’t want us to walk you home, Mom?” Nick asked.

“Oh, don’t worry. No one ever messes with little old me, Nicholas. I’ll be fine. Thank you for dinner. You two have a wonderful night!” his mom waved goodbye as she walked down the hall.

“Bye!” Judy waved alongside Nick, before turning to him. “I guess I better head back too.”

“Okay, Carrots,” he smiled.

“Oh! I almost forgot. Brian called today as I was picking up dinner and asked if we wanted to meet him and his girlfriend for a double date this Saturday! He said they found a great place for us to check out.” Judy exclaimed.

Nick had to do a double take at how casually she said the word ‘date’. He looked at his partner who was just standing there expectantly, looking at him with a small smile on her muzzle, ever slightly jittering from excitement. Perhaps he was reading too much into it.

“Saturday, you say? Well, I already promised to help Finn with a new business deal for most of the day.” He paused to emphasize the next statement with a pointed finger. “And before you say anything, I’m not hustling or doing anything borderline illegal.”

Judy raised a disappointed eyebrow at him, “Nick, stop it. I was only kidding before and I know you wouldn’t do anything like that anymore.” She paused to ponder a moment then clasped her hands together. “How about if you meet us after you’re done? You could even bring Finnick with you! I can ask Brian if that’s okay. It’ll be so much fun!”

She looked at him hoping he would say yes.

He looked at her, thinking, how could he say no to that face.

“Fine, Officer Fluff. We can do that. No guarantees though if Finn will go for it,” Nick agreed as he put his paws on his hips. “So, where are we going?”

Before answering, Judy dashed forward to fiercely hug him, then whipped out her phone and pulled up the Zoogle Maps link Brian had texted her. “This place right here. It’s supposed to be a really fun new night time bar and gaming restaurant called Deer & Bustards!”

She held up her phone for Nick. He looked down at the screen. His eyes immediately widened when he saw the GPS location and the surrounding streets and addresses.

“Nick? Are you okay?” she asked with some concern.

“Oh, um… yeah. I just didn’t expect it to be in… Tundratown. Sounded like a Downtown or Sahara Square kind of place to me,” he feigned while scratching the back of his neck.

“You’re not worried about Mr. Big, are you? I thought he forgave you?”

“No, no. It’s not that. Look, it’s nothing to worry about, Carrots. I’m sure it’ll be a lot of fun,” he forced a smile for her. 

“Great! I’ll let Brian know and update you on the details later?” she said excitedly as she slipped the phone away.

“Sounds good,” he leaned on his elbow against the doorframe.

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow morning in the bullpen! And sorry again for that rude awakening earlier and… what happened after… I… uh...” Judy looked a little flushed and slightly embarrassed, her eyes darted a few times between the floor and up at Nick’s gaze, while twiddling her paws. 

There was a brief moment of silence between the fox and bunny.

“Don’t worry about that,” he spoke quietly and smiled, doing his best not to remember their little tussle around the floor, but epically failing to do so.

“Okay. Goodnight, Slick,” she waved going down the hall, looking over his way one last time, before disappearing down the stairs. 

Nick waved back, watching her ears disappear below the stair railing, and sighed. Pawing over his heart for a few moments, the fox went back inside his apartment, slowly closing the door behind him.

As Judy descended the six flights of stairs, she paused, one paw on the railing, the other caressed one of her drooped ears. She looked back up, her thoughts briefly echoing Nick’s about their scuffle. With a small nose twitch, she continued her trek downstairs.

* * *

The rest of the week flew by and Saturday arrived. Nick was leaning his elbow out of the rolled down window, aviators on, letting the warm breeze tickle his fur, and enjoying the view of the setting sun. He was already dressed for the evening’s outing, wearing his solid navy collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up, the violet tie, and dark pants. Finnick wore his usual black collared shirt with a red stripe and gray shorts. They were driving up Palm View Street, heading towards the Canyonlands, before hitting Tundra Gate that would take them underneath the climate wall and into Tundratown. A small bump in the road caused Finnick’s van to backfire loudly, bringing Nick out of his quiet meditation.

“You know Finn, you really should get that checked out one day,” Nick suggested while leaning back against the passenger seat.

“Nah. My old girl’s never let me down yet. Besides, I ain’t got that kinda cash,” came the gravelly response.

“Well, maybe you will if this business plan pans out,” the red fox said. “I have to admit though, buddy, I never pegged you for the going legit type.”

“Can’t keep hustling forever. Getting too old for this crap,” came the unexpected honest reply.

“Hah. I can just see it now…” Nick raised his paws in the air. “The Frosty Fox Ice Cream Truck! Think of the taglines I could come up for you? Like… where the owner is just as frosty as the ice cream he’s serving… or how about… service with an attitude!” He finished with a chuckle. “You’re gonna let me write your jingle too, right?”

“Shut up, Wilde!”

Nick always found it fun to heckle Finnick. Looking down between the seats, he noticed a shiny pair of tiny tweezers, picked them up, and squeezed it a few times.

“What’s this for?” he asked.

“Nothin.”

“C’mon, tough stuff, you can tell me,” Nick prodded.

“Eyebrows,” came the annoyed reply. “Not like you’d notice.”

The red fox smirked, “Actually, I have noticed how well manicured your…”

“You finish that sentence, I’ll toss your tail out!”

“So, then… you gonna join us tonight, Finn?” Nick asked changing the subject and putting the tweezers back where he found them.

“What makes you think I wanna hang out all night with a bunch of cops?” he snarled.

“Don’t be like that. You’ll disappoint Judy. Besides, it’s just us. And a timberwolf pal of mine from the Academy with his girlfriend,” Nick insisted.

Finnick furrowed his brow. “Thought you hated timberwolves? Always callin’em dumb-dumbs. Or worse.”

That question managed to make Nick frown as he looked back out the window with his chin on his paw, reflecting on the past week. He was often opinionated on several subjects or certain types of mammals but right now it made him feel a little foolish and immature.

“You’re right. I did. This timberwolf saved my life. And Judy’s. If it wasn’t for him, you and I wouldn’t be having this delightful conversation right now.”

“Ain’t that somethin,” Finnick said as he turned into the tunnel that lead through the borough border.

Before Nick could say something more, his phone beeped. From the custom soundbyte, he knew it was a text from Judy. He smiled while checking the message and turned to the tiny fennec fox, while holding up the phone.

“Looks like they’re already there. See Finn? Carrots is still wondering if you’re coming. Are you really gonna make me tell her you aren’t going?” 

The taller red fox wiggled the contact photo on the screen. It was still the old picture that he printed at the Academy where Judy had glomped him while he was taking a selfie after solving the Nighthowler case. Before Finnick could reply, Nick decided to sweeten the offer.

“How about if I buy your drinks for the night? How’s that sound, big guy?” Nick asked with a smirk.

Finnick simply growled. “Fine. I’ll come hang out with you chumps. You better be loaded tonight cuz I’m gonna drink like there’s no tomorrow,” he replied with a toothy grin.

“That’s my boy!” Nick smiled while updating Judy with a reply.

Finnick grumbled while keeping his eyes on the road.

The rest of the trip continued in relative silence as they drove up Palm View and turned onto Hailstone Street. Delicate snowfall fell all around them in the winter wonderland biome. Lots of mammals were strolling the streets, shopping the fish markets, riding ice blocks on the waterways, or playing in the soft snowy powder. 

They arrived at their destination. The signage was a huge circular orange and blue logo with the Deer & Bustards name along with the initials in the center. The venue was large, packed in between several other businesses in the commercial plaza, with roaring music and flashing lights decorating the sleek exterior. 

Judy was waiting outside by the entrance and waved when she saw them get out of the van. She was wearing her aquamarine blouse and a pair of dark jeans with a small dark jacket to keep herself warm. Nick and Judy both shared a distant glance, each checking out what the other was wearing tonight.

“Hi guys! You made it!” the bunny said brimming with excitement. She was happy to see Finnick came after all.

Once they reached her, she gave them both a big hug. Nick played it cool while Finnick appeared to be awkwardly uncomfortable by the gesture.

Judy turned to Nick bouncing on her toes, “Brian is already inside with Valerie getting us a table and drinks. Nick, you won’t believe Valerie when you see her!”

“Why’s that, Fluff?” he asked with a raised eyebrow as he held open the large double doors into the bustling interior for Judy and Finnick.

“You’ll see!” she smiled. “And thank you.”

Once inside, the two foxes followed the bunny past the reception, through the lively crowds, and into the main circular bar in the center of the establishment. Nick saw Brian leaning against the counter, dressed in a fitted dark red v-neck shirt and jeans, a beer already in paw, happily chatting away with another mammal hidden from their line of sight behind a group of polar bears. Once they got closer, his eyes widened when his buddy’s girlfriend came into view. She wasn’t another timberwolf. She was a red vixen.

Brian noticed the approaching group from the corner of his eye, nudged his girlfriend, and waved enthusiastically. The vixen leaned up against him and smiled at the three of them. She was rather petite for a red fox, almost a head shorter than Nick, well groomed fur that was several tints lighter, bright and energetic yellow-green eyes sitting behind a stylish pair of gold tone oval glasses, tastefully pierced ears, and a sassy smile. Her choice of attire for the evening was a nice black chunky-styled turtleneck sweater with rolled up sleeves and a lightly patterned gray skirt.

“Hey you guys!” Brian greeted as he shook Nick’s paw and then Finnick’s. He gestured to his girlfriend while introducing her. “This is my girlfriend, Valerie Sinopa.”

“Hi there! It’s so great to meet some more of Brian’s friends!” she said while shaking paws next. Valerie had a soft yet melodious voice but it projected quite clearly, cutting through the noisy atmosphere with ease.

Nick took her paw in a gentlemammally fashion, “Nick Wilde. Pleasure is all mine.”

Finnick casually shook their paws but kept the pleasantries to a minimum. “Finnick,” was all he offered as an introduction.

“Nice to meet you Finnick. I’m Brian by the way,” the timberwolf said while leaning down to be more level with the fennec fox.

The only response Brian received was Finnick just eyeing him indifferently with crossed arms. 

“Don’t mind him, Nose. He’s shy,” Nick interjected with a smirk. This earned Nick a growl and a glare from Finnick that he ignored before continuing. “And you never told me you had such a classy lady in your life.”

Brian and Valerie shared a smile before she answered, “I see someone is a charmer. Brian did warn me about you, Nick.” She finished with a friendly wink. 

“Is that right? Whatever he shared is positively not true, Val.” Nick replied with paws behind his back.

“Nick’s right. It’s positively worse!” Judy chimed in, standing next to Nick and put a paw on his arm.

“Always have my back, don’t you Carrots?” he said now moving his paws to his hips and looking down her way.

His partner smirked back at him.

Valerie smiled at Judy, laughing at the banter and the nicknames, before speaking up once again while tugging on Brian’s arm, “Let’s get away from the bar. I saved us a nice high top table where we can relax and mingle. Brian already ordered your drinks. They’ll be here soon.”

“After you,” Nick politely gestured.

The group of five mammals headed over to the aforementioned table and took their seats. Brian sat with Valerie on one side, while Judy, Nick, and Finnick shared the opposite seats. Nick and Judy took the opportunity to take in their surroundings. Energetic rock music and dazzling colorful lights filled the air around them. The spacious venue had a large circular bar and mini-kitchen in the center, with tables and small booths that fanned out into several types of entertainment such as arcade machines, pool tables, a few mini bowling lanes, some card tables, gambling machines, air hockey tables, prize machines, and all manners of carnival like sports challenges.

A deer server arrived and dropped off their refreshments. Brian ordered himself another dark ale named Gerenuiness, a Frost Bite Mocktail with blueberries for Valerie, a blonde ale for Nick called Coorsac Light, an IPA named Fox Bite 120 for Finnick, and even a miniature kiwi and mint Tomcat Collins for Judy.

Everyone grabbed their respective drinks and cheered. Nick and Finnick nodded towards Brian for a superb choice in beers after taking their first chug.

“Excellent choice here, Nose. You really do know your way around the drinks,” Nick complimented.

“Thanks, Red.” Brian smiled. “If I hadn’t made it through the Academy, I was probably going to go to Mixology school.”

“Well, here’s to you, having become a great cop,” Nick chuckled and they clinked their mugs together.

“Ditto, buddy!” Brian replied and took a big swig.

The bunny eagerly took her drink, nose twitching, before slowly giving it a sip. Judy never really drank much before. She felt the fruity gin and club soda mixture go right down through her. Reeling back slightly from the initial taste, Judy tasted the kiwi and mint kick in, leaving a flavorful aftertaste on her lips and she felt her insides warm from the alcohol. She noticed Nick giving her a funny stare once he caught scent that she was actually drinking a real alcoholic beverage.

“What?” she asked him.

“You drink? Since when?” he teased her.

“I just figured it would be fun to try,” she raised her chin in defense.

“Oh, I see… this coming from the little bunny who didn’t let her brothers have too much fun during their bachelor party, if I remember correctly,” Nick smirked while leaning an arm on the table top.

Now Valerie cut in before Judy could reply. “Don’t worry, Nick. Judy told us she doesn’t normally drink. We made sure it wasn’t strong... that being said, let the girl have a little fun!”

“Thank you, Valerie.” The bunny took another sip. “It’s so good, Brian!” Judy said to the timberwolf before turning back to her partner. “And I let them have their fun Nick! I wanted to try something new tonight!”

“Try everything, huh? Okay. You’re the boss,” he replied before taking another chug of his beer.

Finnick was just rolling his eyes, gulping his free beer, but still listening in to the conversation.

The vixen leaned in on her folded arms towards the fox and bunny pair. “So, Brian tells me you two are the first bunny and fox police officers! And you’re partners. I think that’s so awesome!”

“Well, we are the only two mammals on the force smaller than a compact car. So, I had no choice but to be stuck with her,” Nick snarked.

“Oh really? I think I’m the unfortunate one who’s stuck with you, Slick.” Judy shot back.

“I do recall a cute little bunny asking me to be her partner after she cracked her first big case,” he reminded her.

“We. We cracked that case together. And don’t call me cute!” Judy corrected him with a tap on the arm.

“But was I a cop at the time? No, no I was not,” Nick defiantly put his chin on top of his resting arm.

A dual chorus of snickering came from Brian and Valerie, breaking their back and forth commentary. Finnick looked like he wanted to shoot himself and tapped his already empty mug on the table to get Nick’s attention.

“Oh, right, right… next round's on me! And Finn is taking the lead,” Nick declared while signaling for the server.

“I’m so sorry, we got carried away,” Judy apologized to Valerie. “Tell me how you and Brian met!”

Before Brian attempted to answer, Valerie beat him to the punch, giving him a loving scratch under his chin. 

“Well, I used to work part-time at my family’s candy shop in Savanna Central, while I was finishing up law school a few years ago. So one day, this timberwolf walks in and asks me for recommendations on candy his Grandma might like for her birthday. I thought that was so sweet of him… pun intended. So, he introduced himself and we began to chit chat while I showed him some various treats. After we found the perfect gift for his Grandma, he also bought a huge bag of assorted candy for himself, all the while asking me which ones were my favorites, then he stayed and chatted with me for almost an hour before leaving...”

Now it was Brian’s turn to share, “Yeah… I thought Valerie was so nice. I kept making excuses to keep going back to the store so I could see her. I was trying to work up the courage to…”

“Ask me out,” the vixen finished for him. “Brian was so shy… eventually he started to come by with flowers or nice cards with handwritten poems every visit. So, I finally got tired of waiting and I took the initiative and demanded him to take me out on a date, dammit! You should’ve seen the look on his face. I wish I had taken a picture!”

By this point, Judy had her paws clasped in front of her chest, ears down, with a big smile on her muzzle, “Aw… that’s so romantic!”

Judy thought it was great to see two different mammals in love, regardless of what society thought, and looking genuinely happy. She suspected that Bucky and Pronk might be a couple too, though they never openly advertised it.

Poor Finnick continued to chug and tapped for his third refill. This was going to be a long night.

Nick was just casually smiling, listening to the story, and glancing over at his old classmate. From the moment he saw Brian was in an interspecies relationship with a vixen, he now understood why his fellow timberwolf officer had no qualms thinking that he and Judy could have been dating from that photo he hung up above his bunk back at the academy. And why he had been so genuinely friendly, not caring at all, that Nick was a fox.

“You mentioned law school. You’re a lawyer?” Nick asked making conversation.

“Yes, finally,” Valerie declared proudly. “It took years for the Zootopia College of Law to accept my application. After graduating in the top of my class, I decided to work for a small pro bono firm. After experiencing how often my family ran into legal issues, with most lawyers refusing to represent a fox family, innocent or otherwise, I decided I wanted to help any mammals that really needed legal aid or representation.”

“Wow. That’s an amazing accomplishment, Valerie!” Judy said, feeling so happy to hear about another mammal wanting to help make a difference in the world. “I bet all of those mammals you help really appreciate it.”

“I agree with Carrots,” Nick added with a genuine smile while he and Judy shared a glance.

“Thank you both,” she blushed.

Being ignored, Finnick slapped Nick’s shoulder with his empty mug to get his attention. 

“Okay, okay. Pace yourself, you bottomless pit,” Nick said while getting up from his seat and turning to the others. “I told him, his drinks were on me tonight, I’ll be right back.” 

Nick sauntered away to the bar to order an extra large pitcher for Finnick to keep him occupied.

Brian chuckled and then asked Finnick a question. “So Finnick, you and Nick know each other a long time?”

“Too long,” he replied gruffly.

“Yeah?” he said hoping for more information.

Judy decided to see if she could help break the ice further, “You know Finnick, Nick never told me how you two met. Would you tell us? Please!”

The fennec box looked over at the gray bunny who was looking expectantly at him with those large violet eyes, her feet dangling on the high top seat, with a small smile while she continued to sip her drink. He rolled his eyes, crossed his arms, and sighed.

“We met working at Chez Cheez,” he plainly stated.

“Wait… isn’t that in…?” Judy began to speak.

“Little Rodentia,” the fennec finished for her.

The three larger mammals blinked in a mix of disbelief and amusement. 

Valerie took a turn next, “I thought only rodents could work there. What did you two do?”

“I worked the drive-thru and Wilde cleaned the cheese filters.”

The bunny doubled over laughing, imagining a younger Nick scrubbing a bunch of tiny cheese filters, working hard for an honest buck. She suddenly jumped when the fox in question’s voice boomed behind her.

“What did I miss?” Nick was back with Finnick’s pitcher.

“Oh, nothing…” Judy sing-songed. “Just Finnick sharing what an excellent cheese filter cleaner you once were.”

Nick frowned at Finnick who just returned a wicked grin. He turned back to Judy, “I’ll have you know, I was the best employee that place ever had. I figured out how to make those machines run twice as fast.” The taller fox paused and pointed a finger at Finnick. “At least I didn’t constantly scare the customers like Finn did.”

“Yeah? Well, I didn’t break the damn machines and get us fired,” Finnick growled. “You lucky I pegged you for having the brains to hustle or I woulda kicked your red tail all over that rat hole.”

“C’mon Finn, you hated that job. Chez was paying us peanuts for what we had to do. And I don’t remember you complaining once we came up with our first big payoff afterwards which went towards getting your van,” Nick pointed out.

“I’ll drink to that,” Finnick refilled his mug and began to work on his fourth beer for the night.

“Nick, you told me you were hustling since twelve?” Judy asked him with a raised eyebrow.

“I did. That was my first and last attempt at having a real job after high school. Only lasted a few weeks. Once I met Finn, and we got fired, well… the rest is history,” he smirked.

“And now you’re a such an upstanding mammal of the law and a hero, Officer Wilde.” Judy teased.

“Should I start wearing a cape? I think it’ll go well with my aviators.”

This earned Nick another punch to the shoulder and an eyeroll.

Brian and Valerie chuckled. “I love listening to you two,” she said with her chin resting on her paws.

With another sigh, Finnick refilled his mug. He was now on his fifth beer.

The group of mammals decided to order some dinner. After stuffing themselves full of delicious comfort food, they began to swap stories. Nick and Judy told Valerie how they met and about their big caper, then the three officers shared some of their more humorous arrests, while Valerie talked about a few of her courtroom cases. Poor Finnick just kept drinking, turning every sappy comment or laugh into his own personal drinking game, and gulped away. Judy even managed to finish her own drink and decided to order a second, catching a surprise look from Nick.

Valerie perked up with a new suggestion. “Let’s go have some fun! We can play a few arcade games. Want to start with that racing one over there?” The vixen pointed to an eight screened arcade booth called Super Mammal Kart. It was equipped with steering wheels, stick shifts, and pedals for all of the players.

“Sure, that sounds great!” Judy bounced lively in her seat, unaware of the small buzz she had going. “C’mon Nick! You too Finnick!”

Judy grabbed Nick’s arm and yanked him away. Brian and Valerie followed, holding paws in amusement, while Finnick surprisingly complied after emptying his mug. The five mammals took their seats, picked their cars, and the race was on. Despite having the most drinks so far, Finnick managed to come in first place, followed by Brian, then Judy, Valerie, and Nick bringing up the rear in dead last.

“You guys drive like chumps,” he growled before sliding out of his seat, going back to refill his drink, and then taking off to check out the card and pool tables.

Judy, of course, couldn’t pass up an opportunity to tease Nick, “I guess you might need more lessons from Flash, hmm?”

The fox crossed his arms. “I didn’t see you come in first place either, Fluff. And I’m sure there’s something here I will beat you at.”

“Oh, it is so on, Nick!”

Valerie overheard the challenge, hooked her arm around Brian, winked at her boyfriend, then spoke up. “You two go ahead and have a little fun together. Brian and I will go get some more drinks and catch up with you shortly.” 

“Yup. Have fun!” he smiled, taking the hint, and the pair disappeared.

Left to themselves, Judy eyed Nick, crossed her arms too and gestured with her paw, “Okay, Slick. You pick the next one.”

Nick looked around and spotted a fighting game called Super Fur Fighter II. 

“Oh… that one!” he confidently pointed.

Judy looked over and smirked, “Are you suuuuuure?”

Her tone made the fox pause in hesitation for a moment, while he stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Why did he suddenly have a feeling he was about to be hustled. No, he wasn’t going to back down.

“Positive,” he scowled with paws on his hips.

“Remember, you picked it!” Judy jovially exclaimed while she continued to antagonize him. She let an evil little grin slip on her muzzle. She couldn’t wait to play. Her partner looked completely unsuspecting of his fate. The drinks were putting the bunny into a really aggressive teasing mood tonight.

Nick moved over a stepping stool for Judy to stand on and she hopped up. After putting their tokens in, they were ready to choose their fighters at the character select screen. Judy already knew who she was going to use and quickly selected a small dark bunny in a blue qipao named Bun Li. Like Judy, Nick also chose a similar mammal, a red fox named T. Fawkes, dressed in a blue denim vest and pants.

“You would pick the bunny character,” he attempted some friendly smack talk.

“Just like you picked a fox. Don’t worry, Nick… it won’t hurt… much,” she wolfishly grinned at her partner.

“You can’t throw me off my game, Carrots, I’ve been playing this since before I met you.”

The first round started and they went at it. Judy wore a serious expression while Nick had his usual smug grin, which much to his chagrin, soon turned to surprise, followed by frustration, and ended with humiliation as his character now lay on the floor, beaten to a pulp. He just stared in silent shock.

“What’s the matter, Slick? Cat got your foxy tongue?” the bunny taunted.

Judy was having too much fun with Nick’s distress, while Nick was eyeing her wondering where this side of the bunny was coming from. He then suspected the alcohol, despite the fact that her drinks were watered down. What a lightweight he chuckled to himself.

“That was just luck,” he complained.

She looked at him with lidded eyes. “Round two?”

Furious button mashing commenced and while Nick fared a little bit better this go around, he was soundly defeated once again.

The fox put his paws once again on his hips and stared at her. “How?”

“And to think, you called me a sore loser before!” Judy egged him on with a smile. “And if you must know, we play this game all the time back home. I am the current champion amongst my siblings.”

“Is that right? Well, then little miss champion… best two out of three?”

“Bring it!” she whispered.

Brian and Valerie were back at the table with new drinks, leaning against the edge, watching their fox and bunny friends challenging each other at the fighting game.

“I definitely see it, Brian. I honestly wouldn’t have guessed they’re just friends till you told me,” she said while planting herself close to his side.

“Right?” he exclaimed. “I mean, I thought so too when I first saw that picture almost a year ago, but I was wrong.”

“Nick is in love with her,” the vixen stated matter of factly.

“Oh?” Brian questioned with a smile.

“Please. I know you see it. The way he looks at Judy every time he thinks she isn’t looking. It’s the same way you look at me,” she said while giving the timberwolf a small peck on the cheek. “If I didn’t see it for myself, I know about half a dozen vixens I could introduce to Nick, who would literally throw themselves at his feet to date a fox like him. Most of them would swoon just from his voice alone.”

They watched as Nick apparently lost another round, arms up in disbelief. Judy nudged over and hip-checked him, doing her best to revel in her victory.

“Well, I think it goes both ways. Judy just doesn’t fully realize it yet,” Brian informed.

“And what makes you so sure, babe?”

Brian simply smiled, glanced over at his girlfriend, and double tapped the side of his nose.

“Oh… cheating are we? Now, I have to keep wondering if that’s how you knew I was interested in you!” Valerie jabbed a playful finger into Brian’s side.

“My little secret,” the gray timberwolf teased before giving her a quick nuzzle.

“How about we go over there and give them a little nudge, hmm?” she suggested with brighten eyes.

“Valerie… you know how I feel about that. You gotta let it happen on it’s own. No outside influences,” he spoke rather seriously. “Maybe Judy just isn’t ready yet? I mean, I know how much she truly cares about Nick. You should have seen her on the case I was assigned to help them with. There was no stopping her. I think once she figures it out… Nick will have to watch out!”

“The case you keep bringing up and can’t tell me any details about?” his girlfriend laughed. After a few moments of silence she whispered another thought. “It would be tougher for them than for us.”

“How so?”

“You and I are at least similar enough species and we’re both predators. Look at all the stares and harassment we get all the time, even tonight… and my parents are still warming up to the idea of us being together.” Valerie paused for a moment. “Those two would have it really rough. A pred-prey couple? I can barely count on two paws how many of those I’ve actually seen. I represented this one lion and antelope couple once, because their employer found out they were dating, and fired them. That was one ugly case.”

“I remember when you told me about that one,” the timberwolf sighed.

"And here we might have a fox and a bunny. You know our ancestors were basically mortal enemies, right?”

“That was centuries ago. It’s not like they could choose what they were born as. I don’t think that should stop them if they actually feel that way towards each other. To say that romance isn’t possible between them because they’re different species is just prejudice,” Brian mused.

“I agree… my big romantic optimist,” Valerie cooed while scratching his chin again and glanced back to Nick and Judy. “They do look so cute together too.”

Nick was watching the words ‘Bun Li Wins’ once again flickering across the screen, with the small little fighter sprite mocking him with a double victory bounce while flashing a peace sign.

“Unbelievable,” he muttered to himself. He turned to Judy and pointed at her. “You know what, Carrots? I’m gonna come back here and practice every week till I dethrone your rabbit majesty and become the new Fur Fighter King of the Burrow.”

Judy just smiled at him, completely unintimidated, with her paws on her hips. “I’ll let you pick another game again, Nick.”

“Fine,” he replied and began to saunter around looking for the next activity to challenge Judy. She hopped in step behind as he lead the way, swaying blissfully to the rock music playing throughout the venue.

The fox and bunny duo tried several more games. Nick finally found at least two games he claimed victory in, a shooting gallery and an arcade roll and score machine. He certainly took the opportunity to tease her for being a bad shot, despite being a country rabbit and being on the force a year longer than he was, and for still throwing like a bunny. Judy let him savor his small victories. After a few more games, Judy took back the lead, and they continued moving through the machines looking for more fun.

“You sure know your way around these games, Nick. Is this something you like to do?” Judy genuinely asked as she skipped with joy behind him.

“Well, remember the bridge you found me lounging under by the docks almost a year ago?”

“Yeah?”

Nick stopped walking so he could face Judy. “The old warehouse behind it, where I used to sleep, belonged to my Great-Grandfather and Grandfather, James and Piberius Wilde.”

Judy blinked a few times and interrupted Nick, “Wait… your grandfather’s name was actually Piberius!?”

The fox had to laugh while scratching the back of his neck, “Yeah… I dunno how that happened, much less how my Dad convinced my Mom to use it for my middle name. Anyway, that warehouse used to be an indoor amusement park called Wild Times.”

Giggling, Judy was already intrigued and amused. She spoke with air quotes, “Really? Wild Times, huh?”

“Yup. My Great-Grandfather created it so that predators could have a place to sort of… let loose and give in to their instincts in a harmless fun way, since back then predator and prey relationships were intensely hostile.”

The bunny pondered this new information for a moment. “I can’t even imagine what that could have been like? Though, it seems like all of the Wilde men are business savvy entrepreneurs.” Judy complimented. She learned two new things about Nick tonight. It always made her feel happy. 

“I’m not so sure my rug and pawpsicle hustles held up to their accomplishments,” Nick smirked.

Judy tilted her head at Nick. “I think you becoming a Police Officer is a great accomplishment.” She smiled proudly at her partner. “So, there were games like this inside the park?”

Nick smiled back before continuing, “Yeah, pretty similar. It had games like Cheetah Run, Joy Ride, bumper cars, a carousel, boardwalk games like Fetch the Stick and Log Roll, even had a large indoor ‘Roar-a-Coaster’ ride. They really believed in the whole scream therapy schtick.”

Placing a paw on his arm, Judy chuckled, before asking, “So, what happened to it?”

“Well, my Grandfather inherited it and kept it afloat for as long as he could, but overtime it lost its popularity once pred-prey relationships continued to improve. He always did say that it was a good reason to actually close the place down. Since the building was located in an area where all of the businesses eventually shut down, the city just left it there to rot. So, once I was kicked out of that basement, I just went there and made it home.”

Being reminded that the old amusement park was once Nick’s home for who knows how long, made Judy’s ears naturally droop and she grimaced. She instinctively hugged him.

“Hey, c’mon now…” he gave her a light squeeze before his ears perked up at the sight of a game he wanted to play. “Oh, Carrots… let’s go play that game over there!”

“Which?” she asked as her ears returned skyward.

Nick was already moving quickly and she hopped to catch up to him. He stopped in front of a large machine with several rows of holes and a giant squishy hammer.

“Whack-a-Mole?” Judy asked incredulously. “That seems really wrong…”

“But so fun!” Nick proudly said as he put in money, grabbed the hammer, and offered it to Judy. “Ladies first.”

She scoffed. “Okay. But I’m not gonna go easy on you!”

The fox just put his paws behind his back and devilishly smirked. Judy played a decent first attempt. Nick took his turn and more than doubled her score. They decided on a best two out of three again. Nick won again. Then it became a best four out of seven. Judy did manage to score one win but Nick felt pretty satisfied with his overall victory.

“You’re really good at this game, Nick. You played it before, haven’t you?” she gave him a mock glare.

“Uh… you could say that. Wild Times had a similar game machine… just… with a different mammal...” he replied, his voice getting quieter as he spoke.

“Oh? What mammal?”

“Yeah…” he didn't want to answer.

“Nick?”

“Itwaswithbunnies...” Nick mumbled out the words quickly.

Judy pretended to have missed what he said and put a paw up to her ear. “What? I didn’t catch that.”

Nick knew she heard him and sighed. “It. Was. With. Bunnies.”

Now Judy mockingly raised an eyebrow at Nick and crossed her arms. “You used to play Whack-A-Bunny?”

“Actually, it was called Bop-A-Bunny.” Nick realized what he said and facepalmed himself before muttering under his breath. “Why did I say that?”

Mouth meet foot, for the second time this week, his inner monologue chastised him. Judy’s monologue insisted on giving him a hard time.

“I guess you played it a lot, huh?” she relentlessly pressed on.

“In my defense, lounging around the warehouse was really boring some days,” he pointed out.

“So, you passed the time by bopping bunnies?” Judy gestured with an upward paw.

“First off, phrasing,” Nick said as he tugged on his collar and pointed with his other paw. “Second, I was just trying to beat the high score that some predator left long ago, okay? He must have had a thing for bunnies because it was impossibly high. I never could beat it before the last of the generators ran out of juice.”

Judy momentarily paused, wondering what she might have implied before shaking it off. “Well, it sounds like you put a lot of effort into it! Did you have a thing for bunnies too?”

“That’s not what I meant!” he said while waving a paw in the air.

“Then what did you mean?” Judy continued to tease him while looking serious. Her foot began to thump.

“I… um...” Nick attempted to speak before just deciding to zip his trap shut.

The pair now stood in a silent standoff, both mammals having crossed their arms, and staring at one another for several long moments.

Looking at Nick’s uneasy face, Judy felt a little bad for giving him such a hard time when she knew he didn’t mean anything by what he shared. For him to really show that it got to him, that she might be angry at something he did or said, really meant a lot to her. She dropped her little facade and moved closer to him.

“Nick, I’m not actually mad at you, silly fox. Come on, you took this round. What do you want to do next?” she smiled.

She heard him slowly exhale through his nose and his shoulders slumped in relief.

“Shall we go join the others?” he asked. “I could use another drink.”

“Sure. Let’s go.”

As they headed back over to their table, Judy noticed a set of fancy looking photo booths off to the side. Hopping in excitement, she immediately grabbed Nick’s tie, much to his sudden surprise, and tugged him in that direction. 

“What the…? Carrots!” was all he managed to say as he was yanked away.

“Nick, look! There’s a photo booth! We’re gonna take some pictures,” she pointed with one paw while still guiding him by the tie with the other.

“Okay, boss.” The fox complied.

Judy pulled the large curtain away and hopped inside the smaller booth. Nick ducked inside and closed the curtain behind him. The fox and bunny pair now found themselves awfully close, leaning against each other inside the booth. Scanning the options, Judy put in some cash, and hovered her paw over the buttons.

“Let’s get the deluxe one! Three extra large sets of four photos each,” she said making her selection. 

The fox nodded. “What kind of goofy faces do you want to make?”

“I want a couple of normal ones, but let’s just be spontaneous!” she clasped her paws.

“You got it,” he smiled.

The timer began to count down and Judy brushed her ears back with her paws and leaned backwards into Nick’s torso with a cheeky smile. He gave his best smug grin and at the last second raised two fingers, giving Judy some fake rabbit ears, just as the flash went off.

“Nick!” she elbowed him.

“Hey, you said be spontaneous!” he shot back.

“I’ll give you rabbit ears!” she turned to wave her paws around his ears as another photo was snapped while he tried to playfully fend her off.

“Nice try, Fluff,” he mocked her.

“No fair. You’re too tall! Wait. I know how to fix this!” She looked ready to pounce at him. 

“I’m not tall, you’re just... no, no, no…”

The next photo taken was Judy suddenly tickling Nick through his shirt and him doubling over, trying to protect his midsection from the onslaught of her tiny paws. Taking advantage, she climbed over him and put up a victory V-shape with her arms, giving Nick an even bigger set of fake rabbit ears as the final photo of the first set finished.

“Okay, okay. You win, Carrots,” he chuckled while trying to regain his composure.

Judy slid off, and decided to keep standing, so that she could wrap her arm around Nick’s neck and planted her cheek snugly up against his. She found herself enjoying how soft his thicker reddish fur felt against her. 

“Smile for me, Slick. I want this next one for my apartment wall,” she said looking his way.

Nick glanced over, doing his best to keep cool with the nuzzle-like contact, and did as he was told, giving the camera one of those rare sincere smiles of his as the flash went off again.

The next set of photos became goofier as they made mock scared faces, pretended to be zombies, made ZPD letters out of their combined pairs of paws, a victory fist bump pose, pretended to look at something far away as Judy grabbed his tie again and pointed, one where Nick managed to place a leaning arm across the top of Judy’s head, another where Nick lifted her up unexpectedly by the waist, causing Judy to make a goofy surprised yelp, and finally a photo of both of them looking super serious while giving the old junior ranger scout salute.

Judy fidgeted excitedly in the seat, impatiently waiting for the photos to develop. She quickly yanked each one out just as it finished printing and studied the large print outs, thrilled with the results. The bunny loved them all, but her favorite was definitely the one where Nick genuinely smiled for her. Judy put some more money in, so she could get another super-sized copy of that particular photo.

Nick was leaning over her shoulder, examining all of the photos as well. “Your favorite one, huh?”

“It is,” she smiled meeting his gaze for a long moment. “Let’s go show Brian and Valerie!”

Her partner nodded, and climbed out of the booth first, helping her hop out, and they headed back to the table.

Finnick was back at the table too, working on who knows which number of beer at this point in the night, while Brian and Valerie tried to make some friendly small talk with him.

Valerie noticed the fox and bunny coming back, with Judy clutching several photos against her chest.

“Oh! Pictures? Can I see them, Judy?” she asked excitedly, holding her paws out.

“Of course!” Judy replied as she handed them over.

The two women huddled over the photos, while Brian leaned over so he could see too. Nick shared a glance with Finnick, who rolled his eyes, and waved his half empty mug at the red fox.

Getting the hint, now it was Nick’s turn to roll his eyes, gesturing one moment, before turning to the group. “I’ll be right back. Nature calls and I gotta get Sir-Drinks-A-Lot here another pitcher.”

The fennec fox gave him an evil glare as Nick winked and sauntered off. Finnick watched the other three mammals continue to gush over the photos before becoming bored. Scanning the crowd for something more interesting to look at, while he finished his beer, he did a double take when he thought he saw an old familiar face mingling in the back. Squinting his eyes, he suddenly did recognize the mammal in question and his eyes turned into saucers.

Hoping he wasn’t seen yet, he nearly knocked his beer over as he slid off his seat and hurried over to Judy, “Bunny cop!” he tried to get her attention while repeatedly tapping on her arm.

“Oh, Finnick, did you want to see the photos too?” Judy asked as she turned to face him.

“We gotta grab Nick and bounce,” he ordered with a very serious expression on his muzzle.

“What? Why?” the bunny asked in complete confusion.

Brian and Valerie looked lost as well, wondering what was going on.

“Ain’t got time to explain. If she sees us…”

He never got to finish that sentence.

“Finnick? Finnick, is that you!?” a very sultry female voice with an accent carried over to their general direction.

The fennec fox simply looked away at the floor, dropping f-bombs and other colorful words under his breath. Judy’s hearing picked up all the swearing and it made her blush a bit.

Brian, Valerie, and Judy now turned to the source of the voice as an elegantly dressed arctic vixen glided up to them and cut in between the group, forcing Judy, Brian, and Valerie to step back. Her crystal blue eyes were focused solely on Finnick, whose big ears were flat and he looked ready to bite someone’s face off.

Her expensively groomed delicate fur was as white as pure snow. She was taller than Valerie, with a short snout, long dark eyelashes, adorned with a fancy gold bracelet and necklace, a large expensive handbag in her left paw, and wearing a very revealing stylish blue dress that matched her eyes and hugged every curve too tightly.

“It is you! I’d recognize that shirt anywhere. You haven’t changed at all,” she greeted him while ignoring the others.

Finnick simply looked up at her with a hostile expression and crossed his arms. “Mira.” was his curt reply.

Judy stood there blinking, wondering who this vixen was. She was very pretty. Talking so excitedly to Finnick, she pondered if this was a special lady friend of his.

“Hi.” the bunny tried to get her attention and introduce herself.

Mira continued to ignore the rest of the group while talking to Finnick. “I never would have expected to see you in a place like this, Finnick”

“Same to you,” he said, keeping his answers short and distant.

“You know I’m always on the lookout for more clients.” The arctic fox suddenly had a realization, her eyes sparkling with curiosity. “Is HE here with you?”

“Hello. Excuse me? My name is Judy and we’re with...” Judy tried once more to politely greet the vixen.

“Oh… hello little bunny!” she interrupted with a quick wave. “Mira Devoss. Charmed to meet you. Here’s my card if you are ever in need of relaxation or massage services. We cater to mammals of all sizes and species. Half off on your first visit. Just mention my name.” She leaned down closer to Judy with a seductive tone, “We have some rather popular special offerings a doe such as yourself would particularly enjoy. Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

In the blink of an eye, Mira produced a business card, shoved it into Judy’s paws, and patted her on the head, before returning her full attention back to the fennec fox.

With a perplexed expression, Judy glanced down at the card. It listed the vixen as the Head Manager and Owner of a spa called the Nastas Comfort Hot Springs located right here in Tundratown. Blinking in thought, she remembered how Nick had mentioned he knew someone that ran a hot springs spa here in the area, when he had given her that wonderful massage so many weeks ago. Could this be that friend?

Having also noticed Brian and Valerie, who were standing right behind Judy, Mira raised an eyebrow at Finnick. “Friends of yours?”

“Yeah, they with me,” he continued to glare.

“Interesting company you keep now,” came the quiet but snobby sounding observation. “You didn’t answer my question, Finnick.”

The bunny did not fail to hear that comment and the tone that delivered it.

“I ain’t got nothin to say, Mira,” Finnick spat.

“Don’t be like that, Finnick. You’re holding out on me. He is here, isn’t he?” she crossed her arms.

“Miss Devoss, may I ask who you are looking for? Perhaps we can…” Judy began to ask.

Turning her head down, Mira gave Judy an annoyed look, before interrupting her with an equally peeved tone, “Sweetheart, I’m trying to ask Finnick a very important question. Please, don’t interrupt again.”

Judy blinked and she gestured in mild disbelief at Mira’s words, finding herself at a momentary loss of words.

Valerie wasn’t having anymore of it, stepping up next to Judy, and using her well practiced courtroom voice to overpower the rude mammal, “Actually, it’s YOU who came over and interrupted OUR conversation. Apologize to my friend for your rudeness.”

Now the arctic and red vixens entered a staring contest. Each one sizing the other up. Mira looked positively annoyed while Valerie looked ready to verbally pounce at any given chance.

Brian stepped up to put a paw on Valerie’s shoulder and was about to say something when another voice joined in. At the sound of Nick’s voice, Finnick looked down at the floor in a hard grimace.

“Hey, what’s going on? I thought I heard Val shouting? By the way, Carrots, I saw this game over there that we should...” Nick said emerging from behind some larger mammals with Finnick’s new pitcher in paw.

Now it was Nick’s turn to be surprised. Judy had turned to see her partner return, only to watch him suddenly freeze in place and look pale as if he’d just seen a ghost.

Mira looked over, completely forgetting about Valerie, and practically bounced with renewed energy. “Nick? Oh my god, Nick! I was absolutely sure you’d be here when I saw Finnick.”

The arctic vixen pounced forward and wrapped her arms around Nick, giving him an unexpected nuzzling and a quick kiss on the front of his snout. It almost made Nick drop the entire pitcher as he was still too stiff and shocked to react proper. Judy’s eyes had gone wide, her ears drooped, and her mouth fell. A strange mix of emotions took hold in her heart, watching this scene unfold in front of her, her violet eyes looking right at Nick.

Having locked eyes with Judy, Nick shook himself out of his stupor, and immediately pushed Mira away. His expression turning rather painfully sour and hurt. He shot a vicious scowl at the arctic vixen.

Unintimidated, Mira took a step forward, “I shouldn’t be surprised you’d react that way, Nick.” She paused to look him right in the eyes. “But, I’ve really missed you. Won’t you come share a drink with me? We can catch up and…”

The bunny, with arms crossed inside her jacket, watched the situation escalate as Mira tried to seductively inch forward with her honeyed voice and butterfly eyes, while placing a paw back on her partner’s shirt, but Nick immediately caught it with his free paw, growling at her. “Paws off, Mira. And I have nothing to say to you. Please leave me and my friends alone. Right now.”

“So, that’s how it is, huh honey? I find you and I’m willing to start over, and this is what I get?” Mira replied with an offended tone.

By this point, Nick reached over to put the pitcher on the table and crossed his arms, ears flat, glaring even harder at Mira.

“That’s right. And I’m sure that somewhere in your spa, there’s a client waiting for his or her happy ending… so why don’t you get back to your business and go service them?”

Finnick now doubled over laughing in the background, while Judy, Brian, and Valerie raised their ears, and their eyes widened. Judy hadn’t heard Nick be this vicious to another mammal since the second day they met when he verbally attacked her for asking if he knew Emmitt Otterton after she had stopped him on his way to his daily hustle.

“And I recall you being quite fond of that service when you visited me often after hours,” Mira sing-songed to him, waiting to get a rise out of her former lover.

Nick jabbed a finger towards her. “That’s not why I came to see you and you know it!”

Having pushed the mild shock away, Judy came closer and positioned herself between Nick and Mira, looking ready to put a stop to the argument with a nasty glare at the vixen. Nick stopped to gently put his paw on Judy’s shoulder, signaling her to stand down. Observing how close Judy stood to Nick, her poised protective body language, and Nick’s soft gesture, these subtle actions did not go unnoticed to Mira. The arctic vixen laughed at the possible absurdity.

“Oh honey, please don’t delude yourself,” Mira paused to glance down at Judy and then back to Nick. Her accented voice snarled with acid. “And I see you developed a taste for rabbit since I last saw you. You always did like fluffy things. At least she’s cute, I’ll give you that. Do her small paws make you feel big, Nick? Hmm?”

The scathing comments made Judy step back momentarily, but now it was Nick’s turn to switch positions, as he traded places with his partner, defensively shielding her, and stepped towards Mira with a growl. 

“You’re not worth the breath or the words, Mira… and you leave Judy out of this. We’re done here. Let’s go, Carrots.”

Mira raised an eyebrow in mocking fashion. “That’s your best comeback? You really did get soft. Run away, Nick. Run away just like you did two years ago when you couldn’t handle it…”

“I couldn’t handle it? All this time, and you still think you did nothing wrong, huh? Well, color me surprised,” Nick shot back while putting his paws on Judy’s shoulders and trying to lead her away.

Before Mira could reply, Valerie decided to step in once more, having squirmed from Brian’s grip and directly challenged the arctic wench. “Okay, I’ve had enough. Take your high and mighty tail out of here, before I decide to do it for you.”

Mira snorted in Valerie’s direction. Looking annoyed, that this red vixen, was butting into her business once more. “And who might you be that you think this involves you?”

Valerie leaned closer, “A friend willing to let her own boyfriend throw her in jail for the night just so I can kick your lily tailed ass.”

Finnick, who was still laughing in the background, yet completely enthralled in the sudden drama finally chimed in again, looking to Valerie. “I gotta bat you can borrow.”

Nick warned him in with a stern tone, “Finn…”

“Just sayin,” he replied with a grin.

Now it was Judy’s turn to find her voice and de-escalate the situation before it got out of hand. She hopped away from Nick and stood between the two agitated vixens.

“Mira Devoss. You are harassing three off-duty officers of the ZPD. I suggest you kindly turn around and go about your business before I cite you for public disturbance and harassment,” the bunny issued a warning in full police mode.

Everyone’s eyes fell on Judy. Mira had to do a double take. She remembered hearing about the first rabbit police officer and recently the first fox officer, but she hadn’t cared enough to read the details herself. Now her eyes darted to the rest of the group. Two other cops? She knew the fox officer couldn’t be the vixen in front of her or Finnick. That left the gray timberwolf and… her icy blue eyes fell upon Nick and she burst into a shrill laugh that made Judy’s ears ache in annoyance.

“Nick is a police officer?” She pointed at the red fox. “Now I’ve heard it all. He couldn’t amount to anything more than a worthless small time hustler. Only thing he was ever good with, were his paws, and that mouth.”

This was all Judy needed to hear to unleash her bubbling inner fury. She calmly looked at Mira before speaking again.

“Fine. I gave you a fair warning, Ma’am. Not only can I cite you for code 415, I can submit your business for review to the Zootopia Massage Therapy Council under suspected violation of Health and Safety Codes 647b. Unfortunately for you, if you are caught engaging in unethical and unlawful business practices, you will be fined, along with the possibility of your business being shut down, and face six months jail time.”

If Finnick didn’t need any more reason to laugh louder, there it was. Mira became completely speechless. Nick grew the biggest grin ever, feeling proud of his bunny partner, Brian just quietly smiled, while Valerie appeared totally amused, trying really hard to restrain herself from giving Judy a big hug.

The arctic vixen crossed her arms, and leaned over to Judy with a challenging glare. “You have no proof, little rabbit officer.”

Not saying a word, Judy reached into her jacket and produced a familiar large orange carrot looking device. Brian and Nick shared a surprised glance.

The bunny tapped the rewind and play functions.

“That’s right. And I’m sure that somewhere in your spa, there’s a client waiting for his or her happy ending… so why don’t you get back to your business and go service them?”

“And I recall you being quite fond of that service when you visited me often after hours.”

Judy put her paws on her hips. “Actually, I do. So, unless you want me to submit this recording to the ZTMC, a statement from myself about your implied proposition to me earlier, along with several witness testimonies, you will quietly turn around and go back to minding your own business elsewhere.” Judy shifted her posture and paused for a moment. “It’s called a hustle, sweetheart.” The bunny’s demeanor changed to a hard glare and she pointed with her pen in the opposite direction. “Now, apologize to Nick and take a hike.”

Valerie also wanted to get one last word in. “And I’m a lawyer, lily tail. I can back up everything she said and then some. Now please do as Judy said.”

Mira’s pretty little face scrunched up and she forcibly uttered her words. “I… I’m sorry… Nick.”

“Good enough.” Valerie waved her paw at Mira in a tiny mocking motion. “Buh-bye!”

At this point, Mira was quietly seething. It almost seemed like she turned a faint shade of pink under that snowy fur from the rising anger and humiliation. She shot a final nasty glare at Nick, who just put his paws behind his back, wiggled his eyebrows, and gave her his best award winning snug smirk. He gestured with his thumb towards Judy and mouthed the words, “That’s my partner.”

Collecting herself, with her chin up high, Mira Devoss, pivoted on her foot, and promptly high stepped away from the group, her tail tucked between her legs, disappearing into the crowd and out of their sight.

Finally catching his breath, Finnick appeared very lively now, looking between Judy and Valerie.

“I gotta start hangin with you guys after all. Bunny cop really does know how to bring it. And Val got some bite in her. Keepin it real.”

“Thank you, Finnick?” Judy said somewhat amused.

Nick walked up to Judy, placing a paw on her shoulder again. The gentle touch made her look up to meet her partner’s eyes.

“Carrots, you brought your pen with you tonight?”

Judy smiled for him and wiggled the pen in her paw. “I decided I always want to be more prepared from now on, especially after what we’ve been through recently. And a clever fox once me that the pen is mightier than the badge.”

“Shrewd bunny,” he smiled back.

Before anyone else could speak, a well dressed elderly deer, in an employee uniform, appeared to confront them. His gaze particularly lingered on the three foxes.

“Pardon me, Ladies and Gentlemammals, but I was informed of a possible escalating situation. If you are creating a scene or harassing any of my customers, I will have to ask you to leave or I shall call the police.”

Judy noticed how he regarded Nick, Finnick, and Valerie with his stare and tone of voice. She was ready to protest his subtle bigot behavior when Nick spoke first. He stepped up to work his crowd pleasing magic.

“Actually, Mister...” he looked at the nametag, “Mr. von Antlen, I’m Officer Nicholas Wilde, the situation has been handled and there won’t be any further issues. I apologize for any inconvenience caused, Sir.”

The red fox reached for his wallet, and flipped it open with a flick of the wrist, to reveal his badge pinned to the inside fold.

The manager leaned over to inspect it. “Ah. Yes, Officer Wilde, my mistake.”

“Thank you, Sir. Just want to let you know, you have an excellent establishment here,” Nick complemented to continue softening up the mammal. 

“Please continue to enjoy your evening and I thank you for your patronage, Officer.” von Antlen nodded and walked away.

“Will do, Sir. Bye now!” Nick waved.

“Whew. What a evening this became,” Valerie said as she finally gave Judy that big hug from behind that caught the bunny off guard. “You really handled her, Judy.”

Lifting her paws up to the large arm around her, Judy shyly chuckled, “I just couldn’t stand the way she talked to Nick and…”

“I know. She deserved it.” Valerie squeezed once more before letting go.

Brian came up and placed a paw on Nick’s shoulder, “Hey buddy, I’m really sorry this happened, I wish I had picked a different place and…”

“Not your fault, Nose. I never thought I’d see her in a place like this. She really hates games and loud venues. And fun. Business must be slow,” Nick smirked.

The timberwolf chuckled, “I still feel bad. How about you pick the next spot and I’ll cover it. Our treat.”

“You don’t have to do that, Nose. But if you insist… then, deal.” Nick replied holding out his arm and the two shook paws.

“Yeah. I’m really sorry, your evening was spoiled you two,” Valerie added with a remorseful look in her eyes.

“It’s okay Valerie, I had so much fun meeting you tonight! We have to do this again,” Judy piped up.

“Definitely! Guess, it’s time to head out, huh?” The vixen checked the time on her phone. “Brian and I can catch the next bus if we hurry.”

“Nah. I’ll drive you. There’s room in my van,” Finnick announced.

Judy and Nick exchanged a surprised glance at Finnick’s unexpected offer. Nick just shrugged with raised eyebrows. The bunny collected their photos, tossed the business card onto the table, and hopped back to Nick’s side, ready to go home.

“Really? We’ll pay for the gas at least,” Valerie said.

“Fine. Just keep the sappy crap to yourselves,” Finnick declared as he pulled out his keys.

The group exited together. Brian and Valerie were quite amused by the artwork on the side of the van once they saw their mode of transportation, that they decided to take a few photos for fun with the timberwolf and vixen couple mimicking the art while posing next to it. Then Valerie got the idea to ask a random mammal to take a picture of the entire group huddled together. Finnick was not amused to be coerced into the photo. After piling in, the old van turned out of the venue parking lot with a loud backfire.

“What the hell was that?” Valerie asked from the back.

Nick leaned over to Finnick. “Seriously, Finn… I know a good mechanic who…”

“Shut up Wilde, or you’re walking home.”

* * *

After dropping off Brian and Valerie, and saying their goodbyes, they arrived in front of Nick’s apartment building. Finnick pulled up on the curb next to the complex entrance.

“Thanks for the lift again, Finn. I love ya, big guy,” Nick winked as he jumped out of the passenger side seat.

“Whatever.”

To Nick’s surprise, Judy jumped out behind him. “I’ll just get off here too, Finnick. Thank you for coming with us tonight and driving us home.” She smiled while clutching the photos.

Finnick barely nodded with a side glance, “Ciao.”

The van pulled away, but not without another backfire, nearly making Nick startle from the proximity and earning a giggle from Judy.

“I swear, Carrots, one day that thing is gonna explode and you’ll be hearing about our untimely demise when Finn and I leave a nice crater in the street,” Nick pointed at the distant vehicle.

“I hope not,” she chuckled and then tapped his arm. “Can I come up for a bit, Nick?”

“You even have to ask? Of course, you can, Fluff.” he raised an eyebrow at her silly question.

Judy smiled and followed Nick inside, up the stairs, and into his apartment. Once inside, she excused herself to the restroom. Coming back to the living room, she found a glass of water waiting for her on the coffee table, and noticed the patio door was open. After taking a few gulps, she stepped outside to find Nick leaning against the railing in distant thought, looking at the northern city skyline.

The bunny joined her partner, standing next to him, taking in the view too. Moments of silence passed before Judy decided to speak up.

“Are you okay, Nick?”

There was a pause before he replied quietly. “Yeah. I’m fine, Carrots. I just never expected… no, I hoped I’d never run into her again after what happened between us. She’s the other reason, besides Mr. Big, that I always avoided going to Tundratown. When Finn and I were hustling… it was get in, make the pawpsicles, and get out.”

Her ears drooped, wondering what might have happened between Nick and Mira in the past. The question on her mind, escaped from her mouth, before she thought if she should even ask. “You two were pretty serious?”

“You could say that. We were together for a few years,” he replied still looking out past the railing. “And I didn’t run away from anything. She was just twisting words to make herself look good.”

“I’d never believe her words over yours,” she replied.

“I know. I just… wanted to tell you that,” he whispered.

Judy looked down at her paws before asking another question. “Do you think you still might... ?”

Nick didn’t let her finish that sentence and looked her directly in the eyes. “No. Not at all.” His tone was calm, truthful, and final. Proof enough that he meant what he said.

Placing her paw on his arm, Judy offered a smile, and dropped the subject. The bunny internally kicked herself for wondering why she even asked Nick such a question, yet she felt a surge of relief from his answer but wasn’t sure why.

He smiled back, moving his arm away from Judy’s paw, reaching around her petite shoulders, and pulled her gently to his side. “Besides, that’s in the past. I have everything I could ever want right here.”

The bunny closed her eyes, leaning her head into his chest. After a few moments of bliss, Judy looked up at her best friend. “Nick?”

“Hm?”

Not feeling tired at all, Judy decided to do something fun. “You want to look over those photos again? We can pick which ones to put in the frames.”

“Sure, Fluff,” he smiled and let go.

They found themselves on the couch, after Nick grabbed a pair of scissors, and brought four empty frames over. The fifth one was already framed with the photo they took of themselves with Nick’s mom a few nights ago.

“This one for sure,” Judy decided for him as she held up the extra super large photo she bought from the booth with both of them smiling closely together.

“Ah. Now I know why you bought two,” Nick winked.

The bunny smiled with half lidded eyes, took the scissors from him, cut the photo out, and placed it inside the frame. She held it out proudly for him to see. 

He took the frame from her paws, walked over to his living room shelf, and found the perfect spot for it. Returning to the couch, they both admired the new addition to the living room.

“Now let’s pick some more,” Judy said.

“Eleven photos but only three frames left, Carrots.” He informed. “I think the rabbit ears one is a winner.”

Nick held up the first photo that was snapped where he gave Judy fake ears.

“I don’t think so! Only, if it’s the one where I gave YOU rabbit ears, Slick!” she pointed a finger at him.

“Yeah, no.”

“Fine. Roshambo for it? Winner chooses the photo, loser frames the other picture,” Judy challenged.

The fox nodded and on the count of three they displayed their choices. Nick, knew that scissors was often the safest and best overall choice to begin with but he should have known better when thinking of traditional strategy against Judy. The bunny played a rock. He sighed, as she whooped in victory, and put the embarrassing photo into the next frame.

“Well, you still have to put the other one up in your apartment, just so you know,” Nick said trying to claim some false sense of victory.

The next hour was spent playfully arguing over which of the last nine photos were going to be the final winners. It the end, they settled upon the ZPD paws photo, and for the last frame, Nick suggested the group photo they took at the end of the evening might be a good choice. Judy happily agreed and texted the photo to him. Nick went to his office, printed it, cut the photo out, and found it a proper place. Now the apartment felt more like a real home, hosting special memories for them to reminisce upon.

Still not tired, Judy leaned back into the couch, looking over to Nick. “I know it’s late but do you want to watch a movie or something, Nick?”

Nick wasn’t tired either, he pretended to consider the proposition, tapping a finger on his chin, “Sure, Carrots. I have a new subscription to FurFlix, so we can choose something online and watch it on the TV. No more renting DVDs!”

“Oh? That’s great!”

The fox sat down and got his laptop out, while the bunny moved closer to view their options. After a short lively debate, they settled on a comedy show instead. Neither of them was in a mood for any sort of drama or action flicks tonight. Nick prepared some midnight snacks, and casted the show to the big screen TV.

As the show was beginning, Judy leaned in close and whispered, “Despite what happened at the end, tonight was really fun Nick. We should do that again.”

“I agree, Fluff.”

Judy played with her paws in her lap before adding another thought, “Brian and Valerie make such a cute couple, don’t they?”

“They do. I’m happy they found each other,” he said quietly.

They shared a smile for several moments before turning their attention back to the TV as the comedian, a yak, came on stage, greeted the crowd, and began his routine. 

“Me too,” she whispered while peering back up at Nick.

Halfway through the show, the fox and bunny pair found themselves sitting closer together, sharing joyous laughter, while enjoying the late night snacks. By the end of the show, Judy drifted away into a peaceful sleep from the comforting warmth of Nick’s torso. A big smile remained on her little muzzle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi Readers! Sorry for the longer time in posting this behemoth. (It’s actually longer than chapter 10: 17k words, what!?) I let it organically grow from my initial outline notes and this was the end result, lol. I also tried to address some feedback with frequency of scenes and them being too short along with better transitions. I hope that comes across here. 
> 
> So, now we got to see a glimpse of one of the major irrational hang ups that’s been keeping Nick from straight up telling Judy how he already feels about her, though the exact details of what happened with Mira aren’t revealed just yet!
> 
> I know it probably seems frustrating with Judy’s very slow uptake so far in this story, but fear not, Brian’s observations to Valerie offer some insight and she is heading there! We will begin to see a lot more of her POV since she is the missing half of the WildeHopps equation. The tipping point is coming and it’ll be that much sweeter from the wait. Soon. ;)
> 
> Next chapter will be special because we will finally learn, what it is that Nick has been making and hiding from Judy this whole time.
> 
> And for anyone, curious about what some of the photos from the photo booth look like, Judy’s favorite one a mix of the first and final selfies taken in this early movie teaser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN-VbcBfBl8
> 
> As always, I appreciate all the comments, reviews, and criticisms. :)


	12. Absence and Resolve - Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy must take some vacation time and attends a brother's wedding in Bunnyburrow while Nick faces what its like to be on the beat without his partner.

"Nick, she went that way!" Judy shouted as they chased their tiny target past some snow covered shrubbery and behind a multi-mammal public restroom building.

The target in question, a little vole, scurried along and found herself with nowhere else to run. Instincts took over and she dove straight into a nice giant pile of soft powdery snow. Nick skid around the corner with Judy in tow. His ears and nose twitched, detecting the trail, and he pointed with a wolfish grin.

"Over there! I got this, Carrots." the fox proudly announced as he sprinted towards the big snowy clump.

Nothing could prepare Judy for what she witnessed next. She watched, wide eyed, as her partner leapt straight up into the air, higher than she'd ever seen him jump, arched his body gracefully into a half circle and dove headfirst into the snow. All that was left to see was the rustling bottom half of his body as his tail swished about, searching for his prey. Within a few moments, he emerged victorious with the little vole in his paws and a big goofy victory grin on his snow covered snout.

"Got her!" Nick exclaimed as he held up the vole like a trophy and shook the snow off.

Judy's mouth was agape before she burst into tears of laughter. "Nick, what in the cabbage patch was that!?"

Her partner looked mildly amused at Judy's choice of words as he shifted the vole to one paw and gestured with the other.

"It's called a pounce, sweetheart." he stated so matter-of-factly. "And what's so funny? I did find Lucy here, did I not?"

He smiled at the tiny rodent.

"Aw. No fair! You guys are too good at this game," Lucy pouted.

"You did a great job, little lady. You were the last one we found," Nick reassured her.

"Officer Wilde is right, Lucy. You were awesome," Judy added after recomposing herself. "Let's get you back to your friends."

"Okay!"

Much to her delight, Nick placed Lucy on his right shoulder, so she could enjoy a ride while they walked back into the snow covered park where a large group of kits were playing.

"You know, Slick… I thought you might be a little apprehensive about us being assigned to Tundratown today," Judy mentioned while looking up to her partner from his left side.

Nick kept his eyes forward for a moment, before finally returning his partner's empathetic gaze, smirking for Judy, "Not anymore." He finished with a wink.

Smiling back, Judy placed a paw on his arm with half lidded eyes.

Today they had been assigned to participate in a ZPD public community event in Tundratown where citizens could meet and chat with ZPD officers from several precincts. Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, and Snarlov were also present, engaged in conversations with a few other parents and borough locals about various police related topics and inquiries.

Judy had decided to play with the kits, handing out junior ZPD sticker badges, and answered their questions about general police work. Nick was trying to play cool and stubborn at first until she finally convinced him to join in a few games of tag and hide-n-seek together.

The bunny decided to make some snow angels with the little ones once they rejoined the parents. After setting Lucy down, Nick bowed out of that one, putting his aviators back on, and leaned up against a nearby tree. He smiled to himself watching Judy have fun. Assignments like these were a nice break from the usual daily police dealings they faced.

Surrounded by several new junior ZPD officers, Judy waved her arms in the snow, making a little bunny snow angel. The kits followed her lead, making various sized angels of their own. After sharing some laughs, she sat up to look over at Nick leaning against the tree. He now gained an audience as a young kit ran up to him with a curious expression. He was intrigued to see a fox police officer.

The snow leopard kit excitedly asked Nick a million questions. Judy observed as Nick haunched over, lifted his aviators over his head, and chatted with the little guy. She remembered how dutiful Nick acted in his jumbo pop hustle with Finnick, posing as his Dad. As she continued to watch, Judy could see that perhaps it wasn't so pretend after all. Nick appeared to have a natural affinity with the youngster. He even reached behind the kit's ear and pulled out a junior ZPD sticker badge from thin air, like a magic trick, and pinned it on the ecstatic boy's jacket. Judy's paws found themselves over her heart as a warm smile grew on her muzzle. The bunny loved catching these small glimpses of Nick's softer side.

The lively conversation was suddenly interrupted when the kit's mother walked over to grab his paw and forcibly took him away. Judy's ears perked up as she caught the mom's whispering words.

"Sweetie, let's go. You don't want to bother THAT police officer, okay?"

"But Mom!? Officer Wilde is really cool. I want to keep talking with him!" the little boy protested.

"Hush. Now come on. You can chat with the nice tigress officer over there," she said as she dragged her son away from Nick.

Now Judy found her teeth grinding as she scowled towards the speciest predator. THAT officer she stressed? How dare that leopard she thought. She shot a concerned look over at her partner. Nick merely straightened back up, flicked his aviators back down, and resumed leaning against the tree, not letting it show that it got to him. But it got to Judy. It really got to her. Even Fangmeyer and Grizzoli noticed what happened, their ears flattening. It took a lot of effort for Fangmeyer to resume a happy face and pleasant tone when the snow leopard mom appeared in front of her, presenting her son, to chat with the tigress instead.

Judy hopped from the soft snow, excused herself from the kits around her, and walked over to her partner. "Nick, are you okay? I heard what she said and…" she whispered while placing a paw on his arm.

The fox smirked, as he glanced down, interrupting the bunny. "It's okay, Carrots."

"It is NOT okay! You know what? I'm going to go have a word with her." Judy said no longer whispering and actually pivoted on her foot in the direction of the snow leopard.

Before she could get very far, Nick gently grabbed her shoulder with one paw and stopped her in place. "Carrots. It's not worth it. Just let it go."

"How can you be so calm about this, Nick? And don't tell me you're used to it. This isn't fair to you. You don't deserve it and you know it," she shot back harshly, pointing a finger a him. Her foot began to thump, creating a hole in the snow below her.

Nick sighed, took his aviators off, and bent down to be eye level with his partner. "Judy... are we really going to have a fight over this? Here? Now?"

His use of her name caught her slightly off guard. "It's… just that…"

"Hey. Deep breath. Count to three," he said in a gentle tone while supplying a small smile.

She closed her eyes and sighed. Nick must have heard her share with Clawhauser how she sometimes practiced that technique to avoid acting out when she felt upset. Judy didn't know whether to be thankful or hate the fact that Nick was using her own advice against her.

The bunny took a deep breath, internally counted to three, and exhaled. "Okay. I'm calmer now."

"Good. Listen, some mammals are just stuck in their ways. Her kit? I think he'll be different. Like you said before, we'll just keep trying and making those little changes. It starts with us, right?"

She nodded.

"Let's go rejoin those kits you left in the snow back there. They keep looking over here, waiting for their favorite bunny officer to come back and play." Nick said, gently squeezing her shoulder, pushed himself off the tree, and walked past her.

Judy did her best to put a smile on as she followed him back to the group of excited children.

The event concluded and their shift was over for the day. They drove back to the station with minimal banter. Judy focused on the icy roads while Nick occupied himself with his phone. A part of Judy was still really upset over that little scene. Even she was surprised how much it still bothered her. Back at their desks, they typed away, filing a few small reports when Judy's desk phone rang. It was Clawhauser.

"Hey Judy, the Chief would like to see you in his office before you leave," the bubbly cheetah informed her in his usual jovial tone.

"Okay, Clawhauser. I'll go see him right away. Thank you!" she replied before hanging up the receiver.

Nick swiveled around in his chair with a teasing smirk. "Going to the principal's office, Officer Fluff?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "I'll be right back."

After climbing the four flights of stairs, she stood in front of the large office door, and raised her paw to knock.

"Come in, Hopps." came the brisk order before she managed to announce her presence.

Judy entered, closed the door, and hopped onto the large seat in front of Chief Bogo's desk. The cape buffalo was thumbing through several reports from the day shifts. Bogo removed his glasses, placed the reports onto his desk, and leaned forward with crossed arms.

Deciding to go first, Judy spoke up. "You wanted to see me, Chief?"

"Hopps. First, I want to say good job today at the community event. I've received many compliments from numerous citizens about you and Wilde."

This bit of news perked Judy's mood. "Oh? Thank you, Sir! Officer Wilde and I always try our best to make a good impression."

Bogo remained neutral and continued to address his smallest officer, pointing a hoof at her. "I was looking over your approved vacation time. You better try your best and actually use it. I know very well that you constantly work overtime and never take additional time off unless I order it. As much as I appreciate the dedication, HR is constantly right up my tail about this." The buffalo now leaned closer and his usual scowl appeared. "Now... if I see you anywhere near this station or hear of you doing any sort of off-duty police work for the next two weeks, you will have a month of parking duty waiting for you when you return. Do I make myself clear, Hopps?"

The bunny officer's eyes went wide, glancing away for a moment before replying. "Yes, Sir. Perfectly."

The Chief finally relaxed for a moment. "Good. Now get out of here and enjoy your vacation. Dismissed."

"Thank you, Sir!" Judy saluted with a smile. "I just want to say that it's been…"

"Hopps. Shut your tiny mouth and go!" Bogo ordered.

"Sir!" she quickly hopped down and scurried out of the office, shutting the door behind her.

Chief Bogo smiled, placed his glasses back on his snout, and returned to his case reports.

Once their shift officially ended, the fox and bunny duo quietly parted. Back at her apartment, Judy was packing her small suitcase. She was going to catch the early evening train to Bunnyburrow. After folding a few articles of clothing, Judy fell onto her bed with a sigh. Not happy with how she left things with Nick, she reached for her phone. At first she was going to send a text but that felt lame. Clicking on his contact photo, which was still the goofy meter maid pic, the dialer began to ring. To her surprise, Judy immediately heard a phone ringing in the hallway, playing a familiar song, followed by a light knock at her door.

Shooting up with a nose twitch, she hopped to her door and opened it. There was Nick, still in his police uniform, with a smoothie in each paw while his pant pocket continued to ring and vibrate. His ringtone for Judy was a non-vocal snippet of 'Ain't She Sweet' from The Beagles.

"I'd answer that but my paws are full," he smiled, wiggling both large drinks in front of her.

With a chuckle, Judy canceled the call and looked up at her partner with a raised eyebrow.

"Carrot and kale smoothie?" he offered.

The bunny crossed her arms and the two stared at one another for a few moments. Nick began to wonder if Judy was still upset about earlier or not amused with his choice of ringtone. Judy, however, was extremely happy to see him right now. She answered his thoughts with a fresh smile, hopped up, wrapping her arms around his neck, and bringing him down as she hugged him something fierce.

"Hey… are you trying to steal both smoothies?" the fox teased.

Moments passed before Judy finally let go while shaking her head. "Nick, I'm really sorry about taking my frustration out on you earlier."

"Don't worry about it, Carrots," he replied, leaning against the door frame, and extended the smoothie for her to take.

"Thank you." Judy grabbed the smoothie with a smile, and inhaled a delighted sip. "Nick, is this from Susie's smoothie cart!?"

"That's right," he replied taking his own gulp.

Her mouth fell open. "But that's all the way over in…"

The fox winked. "I just happened to be in the area."

This earned Nick another squeezing hug. Susie's smoothie cart was one of Judy's favorite refreshment stands. The bunny saved her cart one day during a patrol by heroically leaping from their cruiser, and stopping the runaway cart before it was destroyed or hurt any civilians. Unfortunately, Judy had injured her arm during the process. Being grateful, Susie rewarded Judy with a free lifetime supply of smoothies.

Judy placed the smoothie on her desk before opening her small clothes cabinet. "Oh! Want to see the dress, my sister Violet, told me to pick up for the wedding?"

Nick nodded while she removed it from the rack. It was a nice simple elegant knee length aqua colored formal sundress.

"She picked out all the outfits and designed everything for Manny's wedding and reception. Check out the invitation," the bunny said excitedly and handed him the piece of stationary. "Okay. Let me put it on."

Taking a cue, Nick turned around and looked over the fancy invitation. It had a golden serif monogram with the letters D&M, for Dawn Skipski & Manny Hopps, surrounded by soft pastel colors and a flowing curvy nature motif, similar to many rabbit based designs he had observed.

Judy quickly changed and let him know when she was ready. "Ta-da! What do you think?" she asked with her arms out, eagerly awaiting his response.

The fox raised his eyebrows at her cuteness. Not saying a word yet, he walked past her, much to Judy's confusion, picked up her tiny carrot themed umbrella, and handed it to her.

"Why are you giving me this?" she asked with a continued perplexed face.

"You'll need something to fend off all those bucks who are going to be hitting on you, dumb bunny," he smirked while leaning on her desk.

"Oh, shush you!" Judy chuckled while poking him in the side with the tip of the umbrella.

"Ow. You know, that could be considered assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon," Nick said while taking another sip of his smoothie.

"Police officer? Gosh. All I see is a dumb fox in front of me," Judy replied with her own smirk, tapping the umbrella handle to her chin.

They shared a snicker before Judy noticed the time on her alarm clock with a sigh.

"Oh, prickly pickles! I better finish packing quick or I'll miss my train," she quietly frowned.

She heard Nick suddenly cough and clear his throat.

"Um… Carrots…" he suddenly raised a finger as if to tell her something.

Judy looked at him bright eyed, giving Nick her full attention.

"Nevermind. I'll wait for you outside." Nick chuckled, flicked his aviators on, and headed for the door.

"Okay. I'll be ready in a few minutes."

Judy finished packing everything she needed and put the dress on a travel clothes hanger. Nick carried it for her and the two made their way together down to Savanna Central Station. They arrived with a few minutes to spare as the final boarding call was announced.

"Think you can handle two weeks without me, Slick?" Judy teased her partner with lidded eyes.

Pretending to mull over the question with a few taps on the chin, Nick smirked at her. "I think I'll manage. I'll still have the Hareraiser with me after all. Maybe I can get the artist who did Finn's van to add a superhero fox logo with wings on the side doors!"

Rolling her eyes, Judy pointed a finger at him. "Stop calling her that! And don't you dare spraypaint our cruiser!"

"How about if I add a bunny to it?"

"No!" she said while glaring at him and balling her fists.

Once more the final boarding announcement echoed throughout the station.

"I guess I better get going," Judy whispered, finding her ears naturally drooping.

"You'll have a good time, Carrots."

Looking down for a moment, Judy wished Nick could come with her. "We'll keep in touch?" she asked looking back up at him.

Nick nodded with a promising smile.

Judy said nothing more and dashed forward to give Nick one last hug. The fox closed his eyes and gently put a paw behind her petite head. She found herself not wanting to separate but reluctantly pulled away and boarded the train. All of the doors closed, and the train began its departure. Leaning against the window, she waved bye to Nick. He waved back. Judy moved backwards to the rear windows of the train to catch one final glimpse of Nick as he faded away once the train rocketed forward from the station.

As the train exited the station, Nick's smile faded to a neutral line. Judy was now officially gone for the next two weeks. With paws in pockets, he turned around and began his walk back home, stealing one final glance down the tracks.

The bunny stayed in the back of the train, eyes set towards the train station even after it was beyond her view. Judy sat and continued to watch the Downtown skyline vanish as she passed through the Rainforest District tunnels into the Meadowlands, then Tundratown, and finally Sahara Square. As the train made it's way over the elevated tracks across the bay, she continued to watch as Zootopia itself slowly disappeared around the bend as the train entered the Tri-Burrows county line. Despite being excited to see her entire family again, she found a large part of herself feeling melancholic to be leaving, even it if was just for two weeks.

* * *

Judy woke up at her usual time the next morning. The first breakfast session was a more quiet affair in the Hopps burrow since many siblings and family members were still asleep. Bonnie was already awake and preparing meals for her children. Stuffing herself full of a wonderful home cooked breakfast, Judy volunteered to go with Stu to get the family roadside vegetable stand ready for the day.

After setting up all of the goods, she took her place behind the counter, wearing her large brimmed sun hat. Checking the time, Judy leaned her chin on a paw, looking at her new phone home screen wallpaper. It was the picture of her and Nick smiling together from the photo booth. Soon Nick would be entering the bullpen, ready to tackle his assignment for the day.

Nick was sitting alone in their usual shared seat, drinking his second Snarlbucks coffee. Without realizing it, he was habitually sitting off to one side like normal, his mind subconsciously assuming Judy would arrive at any given moment and take her spot next to him. A few of his fellow officers took note of this with smiles.

Chief Bogo arrived with clipboard in hoof and silenced the room to begin his assignments.

"As you all know, today is the First Annual Skunk Appreciation Parade. The Mayor, along with many city council members, and Gazelle will be making special appearances to bring awareness for these mammals. Several of you will be assigned to crowd duty to ensure order is maintained," Bogo announced while putting his glasses on.

"Wouldn't want anyone to rile up the skunks and have them raise a huge stink, right Sir?" Nick quipped.

Bogo was not amused. He glared at Nick before countering, "That's why you will personally be the first line of defense if that happens, Wilde."

The room snickered for a few moments before Bogo's angry stare put a stop to it. Nick simply kept a smug grin on his snout.

Lifting his clipboard back up, Bogo read the details aloud, "Parade assignments will be Officers Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, McHorn, Rhinowitz, Wolfard, Delgato, Trunkaby, and Wilde. Meet with the organizers and keep the peace. Dismissed."

The eight officers made their way down the main street together and joined the parade preparations. Soon the main float arrived, a giant purple skunk sitting atop a round multi-colored platform on four wheels. On the top of the purple skunk base was a small raised circular stand with hand rails. Attached to the railing was an even larger navy colored skunk balloon floating above along with several colorful ribbons flowing down the sides.

Within the hour, the Mayor along with several city council members arrived. They were a motley crew of various mammals in suits: a leopard, polar bear, zebra, brown bear, pig, hippo, and raccoon gathered to meet the newly appointed skunk representative. Shortly after their arrival, Gazelle, escorted by some bodyguards, made her entrance, dressed in a form fitting bright glittery purple dress with a skunk tail attachment. Waving to the boisterous crowds, she climbed up to take her place atop the float. The ZPD officers took their positions amongst the crowd, making sure to keep their presence known and looking out for any rowdy behavior.

The large 'Skunk Appreciation Parade' banner was raised and the event was ready to begin. The leopard and hippo council members unrolled a long piece of red tape, while the Mayor raised a special large pair of scissors to cut the tape and announce the start of the parade. The float began to move, accompanied by several skunk dancers with pom poms, with confetti decorating the air, and Gazelle singing a new song to commemorate the special event.

Nick was leaning against the temporary fence erected to keep the crowds on the sidewalk and off the street as the parade traveled down the main avenue. Fangmeyer and Grizzoli were nearby, surveying the crowds in different directions. The majority of the parade goers were skunks, but there was a large mix of various other mammals attending, looking to show support, have some fun, or watch Gazelle perform.

Looking down the street, he noticed Susie, the prairie dog, with her mobile smoothie cart raking in the cash from the festivities. The fox smiled at her acute business sense. She was serving a fresh batch of smoothies to a small rabbit family. It made him think of Judy and how much he missed her already. She would have loved this parade. Susie saw Nick and waved with a cheerful smile. He saluted back with two fingers.

Glancing over to Fangmeyer, Nick made an observation. "Well, looks like this assignment's in the bag. The only potential danger I see here is a bunch of pulled muscles from all the smiling and arm waving."

Fangmeyer chuckled, returning the glance to her fellow officer. "I hope so, Nick. Though, I see a small protest gathering on the other side of the street."

Following her gaze, Nick saw a small group of young angry looking porcupines. Two of whom were holding up signs that read 'What about Porcupines?' and 'Porcupines are Mammals too!'.

"Those guys, Steph? I have nose hairs that are more unruly. I saw them earlier and called it in to Clawhauser."

The purple spiky haired porcupine with glasses and a yellow top, leading the group, became more agitated as the float passed by. The lyrics from Gazelle's song only served to irritate her further.

"––Don't believe all the lies that they tell; your heart, heart, heart, is stronger than your smell, smell, smell––"

"Doesn't anyone even care about us? Are we invisible to these mammals?" she huffed.

"C'mon, Lisa. Maybe we should just go home," her friend in a green beanie and shirt, holding a sign, suggested.

"No way! If they are gonna just ignore us, then I'll make them see!" Lisa growled.

Reaching behind her, she pulled several large quills off her back, and with olympic vigor, threw them all at the large skunk balloon in frustration.

Unfortunately, the quills found their target and managed to puncture the rear of the balloon, causing the seams to rip into a larger hole, rapidly ejecting massive amounts of helium into the air, making the float lose control, and suddenly lurch forward at higher speed.

Gazelle yelped, stopping mid-song, as she nearly lost her balance, and grabbed the railing to secure herself. The crowds of mammals gasped and shouted frantically. Nick and the other officers immediately reacted to the situation.

"We got a runaway float and pop-star!" the fox yelled as he dashed into a full sprint along with Fangmeyer.

Grizzoli was already on the police radio, informing the other officers, and the station, about the sudden incident. The largest officers, McHorn, Rhinowitz, and Trunkaby were ordering the crowds to keep calm and steer clear of the street.

The tigress managed to leap and latch onto the back of the float before getting jerked forward. She clung onto the ladder with all of her strength, claws scraping against metal.

"Steph! Hold on!" Nick yelled.

"I am holding on!" she shot back.

Running past the city officials, including the Mayor, who was still holding the large scissors, Nick immediately got an idea.

"Excuse me Mayor, but I need these. Thanks!" he said as he yanked the scissors out of the stunned Mayor's paws.

Running as fast as his fox legs could carry him, Nick managed to catch up to the float as it gained speed. Fangmeyer reached back, grabbed his extended paw, and curled him up alongside her. The fox cut one of the ribbons, quickly tying the loose end around one of the handles to secure the scissors.

"Gazelle! You need to cut the balloon loose!" Nick yelled up to the frightened pop-star before turning back to his fellow officer. "Steph, can you throw this to her?"

"Roger," she replied, taking the scissors and wound her arm back, twisting her whole body into it, throwing the scissors up like a pro ball player.

Gazelle barely managed to catch the scissors before they fell. Blinking at the tool, she understood what the officers wanted her to do. "Oh! I get it!" The pop-star turned and began snipping all of the wires holding the balloon until the last wire released it and sent the skunk balloon flying away.

"That worked, Nick!" Fangmeyer exclaimed.

Nick wasn't relieved yet. "Yeah, but we're still headed straight for the fountain! Hold onto something!"

The three mammals clung onto anything they could and yelped as the float crashed nose first into the town center fountain in front of the ZPD headquarters. Luckily, they were all okay. Nick looked back when he heard angry shouts, as a small mob began to gather at a nearby corner.

Back down the street, Lisa was frantic and shaking in fear. "Oh no! What did I do?"

A mob of angry skunks surrounded the scared porcupine. She looked around, finding her friends gone, and herself backed up against the side of a building. The mob began to shout and point fingers at her.

"She popped the balloon! I saw her!"

"What should we do?"

"I say we spray her!"

"Yeah! Spray her!"

Lisa begged the mob as she curled up into a ball awaiting her fate when another mammal stepped through the angry crowd and yelled over them.

"Hold it! ZPD! Do not spray her!" Nick ordered as he managed to run back in time from the fountain.

It was too late, one skunk had already lifted her tail, and attacked the frozen porcupine.

"No, no, no!" Nick threw himself in front of Lisa, blocking her entire body with his own, arms spread, and took the full brunt of the foul spray.

Now everyone gasped in horror, especially Lisa, and the skunk who sprayed Nick, realizing she just attacked a police officer.

"Oh my god! Officer, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean…" the devastated mammal stammered her words.

"Ugh…" came Nick's muffled reply as he covered his nose with both paws, the defensive stench overpowering his more sensitive sense of smell, causing him to double over on the sidewalk in a fetal position.

A soaked Fangmeyer managed to catch up, only to recoil back from her fellow officer's predicament. Grizzoli and Wolfard were forced to keep a fair distance, the smell keeping the timberwolves at bay as they covered their noses as well. The crowd began to quickly disperse away from Lisa and Nick.

Lisa looked at the fox officer hunched over in front of her and tried to put a paw on Nick's shoulder, her face scrunching up by remaining so close in proximity. "Officer, thank you, thank you! I didn't mean for all of this to happen."

Delgato arrived with some special scent blocking muzzle masks and odor sprays, handing them out to his fellow officers, and came over to Nick with a special plug for his nose. He attempted to spray Nick's uniform to help ease the pungent odor for the poor fox. Because they were so close to Precinct One, several more officers arrived on the scene including Clawhauser and Chief Bogo.

Bogo came up to Nick, the cape buffalo's weak sense of smell and his mask allowed him to endure the odor, and help his rookie officer to his feet.

"Wilde, when I said you needed to be the first line of defense this morning, I wasn't being literal." Bogo said, voice still in full authority mode, but there was an edge of softness and sympathy for his fox officer's predicament.

"All part of the job, Sir," Nick wheezed.

"Delgato, bring more odor neutralizer." the Chief ordered.

"Yes, Sir! I'll be right back, Wilde. Hang in there." he said to Nick before running off.

The female skunk who sprayed Nick had stayed behind, concerned for his well-being, and knowing she was in big trouble. "Are you going to be okay, Officer?"

"Wilde, is this the skunk who sprayed you?" Bogo sternly asked while glaring at the mammal, causing her to shrink in fear.

"Well, Sir…" Nick began to answer till he was interrupted.

"She was aiming for me, Chief!" Lisa piped up. "This officer jumped in to protect me. This is all my fault. I was just frustrated that the skunks got a parade but my request for a porcupine one was never answered."

"Someone explain the entire situation, right now!" Bogo roared.

"Sir, I threw some quills at the float but I never thought it would pop the balloon and…" Lisa meekly explained while staring at the ground.

Before the porcupine could continue, Clawhauser interrupted her.

"Oh, oh! Chief, I think I know what started this! After Officer Wilde called in the disturbance, I remembered seeing an approved application for the Porcupine Parade a few days ago, but I couldn't find it. Then, I checked around again and found it was stuck to a bunch of other papers because of some donut glaze…"

Clawhauser's words quietly trailed off as it was his turn to shrink under Bogo's angry stare.

"Clawhauser, are you telling me, this whole incident could have been avoided if you hadn't been eating donuts at your desk!?" the cape buffalo bellowed.

"Maybe…" was the only word he managed to quietly whimper.

"Does this mean, I might be off the hook?" Lisa reluctantly chimed in.

The Chief sighed and began to inform the porcupine of her situation, "I'm sorry Ma'am but what you did was dangerous. You endangered the lives of several officers, civilians, and…"

"Excuse me, Chief Bogo?"

Bogo paused and turned to address the mammal who called for his attention. It was the newly appointed skunk council member.

"I apologize for interrupting, but the skunk committee and myself do not wish to press charges, if that is okay with you, Sir? We know what it's like to feel misunderstood. We would love to invite the porcupines and all mammals to join in the parade," the elderly skunk smiled with open arms.

The cape buffalo grumbled. "Very well, mister chairman, however, I cannot let her go without punishment." Bogo turned to Lisa. "Ma'am, you will still be required to do at least one month of community service."

"Yes, Sir. Anything!" Lisa smiled.

"Good. Now then... Wilde, do you wish to arrest this skunk?" the Chief pointed at the skunk in question.

She locked eyes with Nick, before dipping her head down, awaiting her sentence, and preemptively stuck her paws out to be cuffed.

Nick merely smirked, still having a bit of trouble dealing with his newly acquired odor. He was forced to breath through his mouth with the special plug covering his nasal passages, giving his usual smooth voice a rather comical higher pitched tone. A few of the officers had to keep their paws over their mouths to contain their snickering when he spoke.

"No. No Sir, I do not," he said with his back straight and paws behind his back.

The skunk's head shot up in surprise. Before Nick could react she approached him and actually hugged the fox officer.

"Thank you, Officer. I'm so, so sorry, this happened to you. I shouldn't have done that."

Momentarily taken aback, Nick patted her shoulder. "It's no problem, Ma'am."

Letting Nick go, the skunk turned to Chief Bogo. "Sir, I'd like to join the porcupine and help with community service. It's only fair."

Bogo remained neutral but was rather impressed with this civilian. He spoke with a softer gruff tone. "Very well, Ma'am. Come to the station after the parade and we'll sort the details."

By this point, Gazelle joined the group, followed by several reporters and mammals snapping hundreds of photos. She wasn't wearing a mask and endured the foul smell like a trooper, approaching Nick and Fangmeyer with a warm expression.

"Officers, thank you so much for saving me, and for being so gracious with these mammals," she said with a kind smile.

Nick's only thoughts were how he couldn't wait to tell Judy about this later. His inner monologue was interrupted when he saw how sad Clawhauser appeared in the background, knowing it was his fault for temporarily losing those papers, and feeling responsible for this entire mess, that the usual bubbly cheetah hadn't noticed his favorite angel with horns was right near him.

"Thank you, Ma'am. Actually, could I ask you for a favor?" he gave his best charismatic foxy smile at the pop-star.

"Of course, Officer." she replied with her soft accented voice.

"See that big, sad, goofy cheetah over there?" Nick pointed at Clawhauser who suddenly perked up with huge eyes at the mention of his name. "You see, he's your biggest number one fan and…"

Moments later, Nick managed to get Clawhauser a chance to meet with Gazelle, and she personally signed a few of his favorite memorabilia, along with snapping a few selfies. He had squealed with so much utter delight, he nearly hurt Nick with a big bear hug afterwards, much to their fellow officers' and Bogo's amusement.

Shortly after Gazelle departed, several reporters attempted to gang up on Nick and Fangmeyer, bombarding them with questions and camera flashes, before Bogo chased them away. The Mayor also appeared with a mask and personally thanked both officers for their bravery. He ordered the parade to resume. Someone crossed out the word 'Skunk' from the banner and replaced it to say the 'Mammal Appreciation Parade'. Gazelle returned with a different outfit and was singing a new song, entertaining the returning cheerful crowds.

Chief Bogo sent Nick home early, ordering him to take the rest of the day, and the next off, to get rid of that odor before coming back to the bullpen. The fox made his way home, clearing a wide path, as his fellow officers wished him well from a distance. Halfway there, Nick remembered he had no food left in the fridge. Feeling devious, it was time for a small detour.

Several hours later, Judy finished packing the few unsold veggies onto the family truck under the setting sun. It was time to close shop and head back to the Hopps Family burrow. Her mom had promised to make her favorite meal tonight for dinner. Driving back home with her dad, Judy's mind meandered to Nick, and how his first day going solo went. She decided to call him later in the evening.

With a warm motherly smile, Bonnie brought her daughter a big plate of leafy greens and veggies, before excusing herself to check on the younger kits and grandpa. Just as Judy was chewing a few delicious morsels, a big ruckus could be heard from the den. Ears up, she wondered what was going on. Out of the side door, raced Cotton Hopps, one of Judy's youngest sisters, who had eagerly run alongside the train one year ago, frantically waving goodbye to her big sister when she had departed for Zootopia.

The little cream colored bunny hopped excitedly to get Judy's attention. "Judy! Judy! There's a fox cop on the news!"

"What!?" Judy immediately bolted out of her chair, knocking it over, grabbed her sister's paw, and headed to the den.

The bunny hopped into the main den where a gigantic crowd of her siblings of all ages, eagerly surrounded their grandpa in his big red chair, and were watching a recap of the day's news on TV. It was about some parade.

The ZNN Anchors, Peter Moosebridge and Fabiene Growley, appeared on screen to replay the earlier news event.

Fabiene spoke with a perfect sweet delivery as she recapped the parade. "In earlier news, today marked the first Annual Skunk Appreciation Parade that was held in Downtown Main Street across from the City Town Center. The parade, unfortunately, was interrupted by a small group of protesters, who attacked the main float and sent it crashing into the city fountain outside of the ZPD headquarters."

Peter took over, continuing the story, "We have amaeatur footage showing two brave ZPD officers, who were able to stop the runaway float, and restore order."

The footage began to roll and took over the screen. Bonnie and Stu joined the family, their eyes glued to the TV alongside every other Hopps in the room.

"Judy, isn't that...?" Stu began.

"Oh, my sweet heavens. Is that Nicholas?" Bonnie interrupted her husband.

Judy gasped loudly and her nose twitched. Sure enough, there was her partner, along with Fangmeyer, jumping onto the runaway float and safely diverting it into the fountain with Gazelle's assistance. Then another video appeared. It was from a crudely filmed smartphone video, but it was clear enough to show a small porcupine about to get mobbed by an angry group of skunks, only for a red fox in uniform to jump in between them and protect the civilian, getting himself sprayed in the process, before doubling over onto the sidewalk.

Horrified, Judy's eyes only widened further and her ears fell. "Oh, sweet cheese and crackers!"

Her thoughts were broken when her grandpa, Otto, began to yell and wave his cane at the TV.

"You see that! I bet that fox started that whole ruckus! He got what he deserved."

"GRANDPA!" Judy roared, snapping out of her shock, all eyes in the room turning to her. "He did not! Did you even hear the report? He was saving the float and protecting that civilian!"

"Pop-Pop, that's Judy's partner, Nicholas." Bonnie joined in with a scowl at her father-in-law.

"Partner? How can you trust a fox, Trudy?" Otto asked while adjusting his spectacles.

Cotton and a few other siblings also chimed in like a giant chorus. "Judy, is he your boyfriend?"

"Ugh!" she groaned angrily with arms in the air. Not being able to take this anymore, she turned to her parents. "I need to call Nick!"

"Judy is gonna call her boyfriend!" Cotton piped up again.

"Cotton Hopps, behave yourself young lady and stop antagonizing your big sister," Bonnie mildly scolded.

"Listen to your mother, Cotton. Mister Wilde is Judy's partner at work," Stu added.

Without another word, Judy sprinted out of the den, towards her room to get her phone, missing the rest of the news cast that showed the happier conclusion to the turn of events. Her mind was only focused on Nick.

Shoving the door wide open, Judy bounded down the short stairs, pushed the curtains aside, and leaped to her old desk. She quickly grabbed her charging phone and punched the MuzzleTime speed dial for Nick.

After several rings, it went to voicemail. She canceled and tried again. Again to voicemail. Her foot began to impatiently thump and she tried one last time before she was going to leave a message for him to call her back right away.

At the last moment, the screen changed. She watched a frantic pick up, as Nick's face suddenly appeared, haphazardly grabbing his phone. The fox was soaking wet, wearing nothing else that she could see from above his waist.

"Carrots? What's wrong!?" He looked worried.

"What's wrong!? I just saw the news! Are you okay? Why didn't you call me right away, Nick!?" She blurted out before suddenly realizing she was also staring at his bare russet upper torso. Judy didn't give him time to reply, her eyes and ears shooting upwards. "Oh my god! Are you naked!?"

"What?" Her outburst caused Nick to double check his towel. "No. No, I am not naked. I jumped out of the shower because you wouldn't stop calling my phone."

Beyond Judy's bedroom door, some random sibling overheard her and yelled back, "Someone's naked?"

"No one's naked!" she quickly replied, cheeks flushed, and ran over to slam her door shut.

"Although… this is Zootopia, where anyone can be..." Nick added over the phone, a smug grin returning to his face.

She didn't let him finish. "Nick!"

"Alright. Alright. Wait one second, I'll grab a shirt," he said while putting the phone down and sauntering off to his closet.

Judy could still see him in the front facing camera view, drying himself quickly with different towel before digging around for a few moments and pulling a dark shirt over his head. She was trying really hard not to look and failed. When he came back, she saw the letters ZPD written across the shirt.

"Better?"

Judy sighed before shotgunning her worried apology and inquiry. "I'm sorry I got so worked up, Nick. What happened today? I saw a news video of you on top of a speeding float and then getting sprayed by a skunk!"

"Yeah… funny story that..." he said while scratching the back of an ear. "Let's just say I'm on my third shower of the day, with this… organic tomato-based 'Miracle Skunk Away' shampoo. Doesn't seem very miraculous to me since I can still smell the odor." He held up the product for her before tossing it to one side. "I had to put in a requisition for a new uniform too. My old one's toast." He paused to take a few sniffs. "Hold on."

The bunny watched him grab a FurBreeze bottle and begin to rigorously spray it all around his apartment. Judy's ears drooped. She couldn't imagine how it must have smelled for his more sensitive nose.

"Nick, please tell me what happened?" she gently asked while bringing the phone closer to her muzzle.

Finding a more comfortable place to lean back against, Nick recounted the day's events in detail for his partner. He watched as Judy's expression continuously changed with each passing new piece of information. In the end, he managed to make her laugh and surprise her with the tidbit about Gazelle and Clawhauser.

Judy huffed and sighed. "I can't believe Clawhauser. Though, that was really nice of you to do that for him, Nick. And to forgive that skunk too." A wonderful smile spread across her small nuzzle.

"Yeah, well…" he didn't know what else to say.

"C'mon, Officer Wilde. Don't be so modest," she teased him.

"Since when have you ever told me to do the opposite, Fluff? Am I talking to the right bunny? Or is this another Hopps?"

"You better only be talking to me, Slick!" Judy said before realizing how that sounded. It made her feel slightly embarrassed. The bunny didn't know why she said that.

Nick realized. He leaned closer, just smirked, and wiggled an eyebrow. Judy glared back.

"Tell me about your day?" Nick asked changing the subject.

Judy's glare softened and she shared her oh so exciting day of selling vegetables along the side of the road. At the very least, they had sold most of the day's haul, and made a nice profit.

"Do you have to go back to work tomorrow, Nick?" she asked.

"Well, Chief Buffalo-Butt told me, he better not catch me in the station till the odor is gone. According to him, my foul mouth is already more than enough for the precinct to handle."

This gave the bunny a good laugh, so much, that she had to hold her sides. Nick sat amused, watching her reaction, even if it was at his expense.

Wiping the wetness from her shiny eyes, Judy skipped over to her bed, sprawled across it, chin on her paws, smiling at the phone lying in front of her. "Then that means you can chat with me for awhile."

The fox smiled back, walked over to his bed, and took a seat, crossing his legs.

"You know. I may have to take advantage of this situation. I stopped to get some groceries on the way home and you wouldn't believe how fast I cleared those lines. No waiting at all!"

"Nick!" she half chuckled, half glared at her best friend. "That's terrible of you!"

"Terribly effective, Madam." he winked at her. "Maybe I'll take a trip around the city for my day off. I bet I could get an entire subway car to myself."

Judy rolled her eyes. Her mood brightened now from Nick's quips and playfulness. His general devil-may-care attitude was often contagious. He wasn't letting today's events get to him.

The duo began to banter about nothing in particular, before jokes, teasing, and inquiries were asked and answered about the Hopps farm, rabbit weddings, and the reception. Before either of them realized, it became very late. Nick had long since shifted over to laying down on his back, paws across his stomach, with his phone lying next to his ear.

Judy's voice grew quieter as they spoke. Nick asked if she was becoming too tired to continue chatting but she refused to end the call, despite evidence to the contrary. He looked over at the screen once she stopped talking altogether for some time. From the dim glowing screen light, he could see her illuminated face resting against the mattress covers, eyes closed, and softly snoring.

"Carrots?" he whispered, paused, and tried once more. "Carrots?"

Her only reply, was a quiet indistinctive murmur, before she curled herself into a ball.

Chuckling, Nick didn't have the heart to hang up, so he just plugged his phone into the charger on the nightstand and let it be.

"Goodnight, Judy." the fox whispered before laying his own head on a soft pillow and closing his eyes.

Whether or not Judy heard him, she shifted around once more, a smile on her face, as she entered a deep peaceful sleep.

* * *

Bonnie Hopps came down the stairs, walked down the hallway, and found herself standing in front of Judy's old bedroom door. It was already past 9AM, an unusual time for her daughter to still be sleeping. After a few quiet knocks on the door, Bonnie slowly opened the door and stepped inside. When she reached the bottom of the short staircase, she turned to see Judy sleeping in the same clothes she wore yesterday, curled up next to her phone. Her mom smiled, walked over to the bedside, and kneeled down to gently nudge her daughter awake.

"Bun-Bun." she whispered. "Wake up, sweetheart. You need to eat before we head out today."

The soft words roused Judy and her eyes fluttered open. She sat up, rubbing the side of her head, looked over to her old clock, and saw the time. Her alertness went from 0-100 in record time. "It's past nine!?"

"You must have stayed up late," Bonnie stated more so than asking.

Judy brushed her ears back. "I was talking to Nick and… I guess I lost track of time…" she trailed off, picking up her phone and noticing the battery was completely drained.

Bonnie smiled and placed a paw on her daughter's shoulder. "Yeah? Was he okay?"

With a loud chuckle, Judy glanced up. "He's fine, Mom. The Chief ordered him to stay home until he stopped stinking. It might take a day or two to get out."

"Good heavens." Bonnie gasped. "We'll have to pack him some extra treats to take back with you."

The younger bunny smiled at her Mom's genuine kindness towards her best friend. "He'd love that."

"Let's get you upstairs and fed Bun-Bun, we still have time before we have to get ready for your brother's wedding. Violet will be waiting at the train station and you know how your sister and her partner get if we run behind schedule."

"Okay." she nodded.

Hopping off the bed, Judy hooked her phone back up to the charging cable before joining Bonnie on their way upstairs to the dining hall. She shoveled some quick breakfast, changed into the aqua sundress, and joined the rest of their family as they headed to the train station. Hundreds of excited Hopps family members piled onto the Zootopia Express as it headed west towards Deerbrooke County, arriving at Podunk, where the wedding and reception was arranged to be held.

For the wedding ceremony, Manny and Dawn chose an outdoor picturesque grove with tall deciduous trees decorated with dazzling lights and flowers, opening to a lush clearing with a lovely brook running through the middle. Numerous rows of seats were set alongside a long carpet ending at a marble fluted archway with gossamer accents.

The swarm of rabbits eagerly took their seats. It was a relatively small ceremony, small in regards to hundreds of rabbits from both sides of the family. Judy sat surrounded by a horde of her siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles on the groom's side. Three of her younger sisters, Cotton, Megan, and Julie sat next to her in the same row along with Maude, who like Judy, was also in her twenties. Off in the distance, Judy could see her older sister, Violet and her partner Cecilia, directing and ordering the various guests, wedding party, and staff to their rightful places.

The ceremony was fairly short. Once everyone was seated, Dawn, who had golden colored fur like a rising sun with big green eyes, walked down the aisle in a beautifully elegant white gown, escorted by her father, up to the altar where an eagerly happy Manny was waiting. Manny really looked like his father's son, Judy thought. He and Stu were nearly identical in many ways with Manny being just a tad taller, slimmer, and bore a slightly darker muzzle. Bonnie and Stu were in the front row, Stu naturally crying at this emotional moment, with Bonnie attempting to calm him down.

The bride and groom exchanged their vows, shared a joyous kiss, and were now married. A thunderous round of applauses and cheers echoed through the grove from the giant bunny crowd. Manny and Dawn made their way back down the aisle and the two families followed suit to head to their next destination. Past the grove, on a nice rolling hill, was a quaint victorian style banquet hall, where the Hopps and Skipski clans joined in for a festive reception. A local DJ and band were set up, ready to rock the night away.

When Judy entered the hall, she was greeted to an unexpected surprise. Off to the far side, she recognized a husky fox, in a pink baking apron, wheeling a massive cake.

"Gideon. Hey! Long time no see!" Judy greeted as she hopped up to him.

"H-hey Judy!" Gideon replied, in mild surprise, as he turned to face the doe. "I-I… was wondering if you'd be here. Last I saw you's but a year ago when you ran off in Mr. H's truck."

The bunny chuckled. "Funny, you should mention that. I never did get a chance to thank you for giving me that clue about the Nighthowlers. It helped me solve the case."

"R-really?" he looked puzzled.

"Yup. I was able to reconcile with a dear friend, and with his help, we solved the case, and caught the real culprit together." she smiled. "So, thank you."

"Gosh. Well...i-it was nothing. I'm g-glad I could help." Gideon stammered while drumming his fingers together.

"So, you bake cakes too?" Judy asked looking up at the huge cake in front of them.

"N-not all the time. Sometimes I like to dabble. Your s-sister, Violet, asked me if I c-could when I went to make a pie delivery to y-your folks a spell ago. H-here. Try some."

The large fox expertly removed a tiny sample without disturbing the design and held it out on a small cake knife for Judy.

She took the sample and tasted it. It was a carrot cake.

"Oh, my gosh. This is so good! I know Dawn and Manny are going to love this," she complimented while smacking her lips.

"T-that's mighty kind of you to say," he replied with a bashful tone.

The tasty cake reminded Judy of her failed attempt at baking, back home with Nick, prompting her to pose a question to Gideon.

"Say, Gideon. Nick and I tried to bake your rhubarb pie once and we totally ruined it. Could you tell me what we did wrong?" she asked with a genuine smile.

"S-sure, I'd be happy to tell y'all," he offered with clasped paws and perked ears. He loved talking about baking with any mammal. Gideon wondered who this Nick fella might be. Her boyfriend perhaps?

"Really? Oh, that would be so great!" Judy hopped in equal excitement.

Gideon Grey listened to Judy's recollection of her pie baking and then offered his method and advice on how she should try again. After a brief chat, Judy thanked him and excused herself once the seating roll call began. The big fox waved goodbye and continued to put the final touches on the cake, pushing it over to it's final destination, where it would soon be devoured by an army of ravenous rabbits.

Being a single doe, Judy was naturally stuck at the singles table, where she and a few Hopps family members were sitting with several Skipski family and friends. She internally sighed. It might have been her parents' idea or Violet's. Spying her name on the table, she noticed she was surrounded by several bucks on each side. Judy greeted everyone with a friendly wave and warm smile, taking her seat, and waited for the party to start.

Once the initial toast and first dance was shared, everyone was free to mingle, eat, and dance. For now, Judy kept to herself and mammal watched all the guests having a jolly time. Her phone vibrated. With perked ears, she eagerly pulled it out, wondering what the notification might be. It was a text from Nick.

[Nick:] "Hey, Officer Fluff! I know you're busy having a good time, just saying hi. Don't arrest half the guests for disorderly conduct, it's a party after all. Hope you brought a stick. Give my wishes to your brother and his lucky lady. TTYL."

Judy chuckled at Nick's silliness and flirty teasing. Furious fingers swiftly gliding over keys, as Judy sent a few reply messages, when a tap on the shoulder interrupted her.

"There's my little sis from the big city!" a taller gray doe with the same violet eyes, matching glasses, and wearing a purple sundress hovered over Judy with her arms stretched wide.

"Violet!" Judy exclaimed and gave her older sister a hug.

Violet Hopps was the only other sibling in the entire immediate Hopps family to have gray fur and violet eyes like Judy and Bonnie. Judy had often wondered if she was born first, would her Mom have given her that name instead.

"I didn't get a chance to find you earlier. So, how's our big city cop?" Violet said as she tilted her head.

"I'm doing great! It's been really busy at the ZPD, but I wouldn't trade it for anything," Judy smiled.

"Sorry, I had to put you at the singles table, Jude. Mom and Dad insisted when we were going over seating arrangements when you said you were coming stag. No nice guys in the big city?"

Judy's eyes reflexively flicked to her phone for a split second. A brief image of Nick flickered in her mind before she shook her head and replied. "Well, those blind dates, Mom and Dad kept trying to set me up on didn't really go anywhere. And the life of a police officer… always a case to solve or a citizen to help," she shrugged, throwing out an answer to appease her sister's curiosity.

"I imagine so. A career bunny like you is probably too much for the boys to handle. They're probably too afraid of you," her sister teased with an arm tap, noticing Judy peek at her phone briefly.

The younger bunny decided to change the subject. "Yeah… so how's Cecilia?"

"Probably yelling at the photographer right about now, " Violet laughed. "I swear, she's more of a perfectionist than I ever thought to be. She's been a little stressed because our business has picked up too. Spring time. Love is in the air. All that jazz. You know how it is?"

Judy nodded as if she knew.

"Well, I better go find my little 'Dewdrop' and make sure everything is going smooth. I need to check with Gideon about that cake too and tell him he's welcome to stay. Catch ya later, Jude?"

"Of course," Judy said as she hugged her older sister goodbye for now.

"Oh, be the way…" Violet leaned over to whisper and pointed inconspicuously back to the table. "That cute dark buck over there is Morty. He's a friend of Dawn's. I think he could be your type."

Violet winked and walked away to find her partner. Judy rolled her eyes and sighed. Before she could check to see if Nick replied, a trio of tiny paws appeared below her, tugging at her dress, to get her attention.

"Judy, Judy, Judy! Come dance with us!"

It was Cotton, Megan, and Julie. They all wanted to dance with their big sister.

"Hey you guys!" Judy kneeled down so they could all jump into her arms.

"Will you come dance, Judy?" Cotton asked again, practicing her big pleading eyes and droopy ear routine.

"You don't have to ask me twice. C'mon, let's go!"

"Yay!" all three girls cheered as they all hopped to the dance floor together.

The four sisters hopped, jumped, and twirled around to an upbeat song, having a merry time and losing themselves to the rhythm. A few songs later, the bobcat DJ shifted the mood with a few slower tunes. The little ones took a break, deciding to hunt for some sweets. Judy's ears swiveled at the sound of an unfamiliar, yet articulate voice, attempting to gain her attention.

"Could I have this next dance?"

It was Morty, the buck that Violet had pointed out to Judy at the singles table earlier. He was only an inch or two taller than Judy, a slim lanky build, dark shiny fur, with hazel eyes. He was wearing a classy designer sleeveless blazer vest, holding his paw out, patiently waiting for Judy's response with a confident smile.

"Sure," Judy replied in a friendly tone. "I'm Judy. Morty, right? My sister said you're a friend of Dawn's?"

"Yes. Dawn and I grew up here in sleepy, little, Podunk. We've been friends since we were kits," he answered with brightened eyes.

"Oh, that's really nice," Judy said making friendly chit chat.

Morty, politely waited to let Judy extend her paws, and the two began a simple dance, casually, swaying from side to side.

"If I may be so bold, Judy… you look really cute in this dress," Morty complimented.

"Oh, thank you." Despite hating to be called cute, the bunny found herself blushing a tiny bit. She rarely received compliments except from occasional indirect sly word plays from Nick. She realized she just thought of him again. "I like your outfit."

The taller buck smiled in appreciation. "I heard you're a police officer in Zootopia?" he asked making more conversation.

"Yes. It's been my dream job since I was a kid," Judy replied with a renewed burst of excitement.

"That's quite the achievement, Judy." Morty said in awe.

"Thank you. What do you do, Morty?"

"My job is a little less exciting. Always been a numbers guy. My family owns the First Podunk County Bank. I'm the head branch manager. Though, I suppose if we ever get robbed, I know who to call!" Morty chuckled in an attempt to create some humor.

With a small chuckle of her own, Judy grew more energetic. "Funny, you should mention a robbery. My partner at the ZPD and I actually solved a robbery case a couple months ago. There were these two cheetah brothers who posted fake online job listings and used the crowds they gathered at each bank they targeted as a decoy. One of them would disguise himself as a crowd goer, grab a money bag during the armor car transfer, and escape using a flotation device in a nearby waterway, while the other picked him up in a jet ski."

Morty's eyes and ears shot upward, while his nose began to twitch. "Wow. I'm surprised a couple of preds could come up with such a clever plan. And you figured them out and caught them, huh?"

Judy paused for a moment, ignoring the predator jab, as she continued speaking. "My partner is quite the clever guy too. Nick was the one who suspected they were using the waterways to escape out of sight. So, we set up in waiting at their next heist once we caught onto their scheme. He also saved me from drowning after I had chased down the culprits on their jet ski. One of them couldn't swim and he grabbed onto me."

The darker buck managed to look impressed. "That's impressive, Judy. This Nick sounds like quite the fella."

"He is. I couldn't have asked for a better partner. I trust him with my life," Judy said with a reverent tone, her half-lidded eyes shining brightly.

Morty picked up on Judy's body language and the inflection in her voice, regarding Nick. He merely nodded, continuing his compliments. "I'm sure he thinks the same of you."

Several Hopps family members were eagerly watching the exchange. Bonnie and Stu wondered if their little Judy finally met a nice rabbit. Violet was also observing from a distance while she was chatting with Manny and Dawn about cutting the cake soon. She nudged the newly weds to look. Dawn bounced ecstatically, watching the pair mingle. Excusing herself, Violet made her way over to Gideon while keeping a tab on Judy and Morty.

Many of the younger rabbits were eagerly waiting for the cake to be cut, causing a bit of noise around Gideon, constantly asking when they could have a piece. He did his best to kindly remind them that the bride and groom would be having their first piece shortly. Violet came over to save him by shoo'ing all of the children away, while Cecilia arrived with the photographer.

The sounds of impatient disappointment reached both rabbit's ears as they turned to look at the nearby giant cake.

The darker bunny raised an eyebrow as he observed Gideon. "I'm surprised they hired a fox, " he whispered.

Judy's ear twitched at the hint of contempt in his voice. She turned back to face Morty, doing her best to keep a neutral expression. "What do you mean?"

"Just that." He gestured to the bubbly fox with a nod. "Nothing against him, but wouldn't it make more sense to hire a bunny chef to bake for an entire reception of rabbits?"

Taking a step back, Judy removed her paws from his, placing a paw on her hip, and frowned. "So, you think because he's not a bunny, he can't bake us a cake? You didn't even try the cake yet. Gideon gave me a sample and it was so delicious!"

"Sure. Okay. Can't really screw up carrot cake, I guess." he shrugged in a nonplussed manner while hooking his thumbs into his vest.

His answer made Judy pause and blink for a moment.

"Bet he overcharged for that thing." Morty rattled off his distaste. "You know foxes love their profit margins when they can get away it, from what I hear."

She looked at him with a shocked expression. Her brow became furrowed and her mouth pursed at this statement.

Morty took notice of her reaction. He wafted a paw in the air. "Come on, Judy. I know you're a cop and all but you don't really trust predators do you?"

Judy crossed her arms and gave him a hard stare for a few moments. It caused Morty to visibly fidget for a moment under her silent scrutiny.

"Actually, I do..." Judy proudly replied. She paused, expression turning into a smug half grin, pulled out her phone, unlocked it to bring up her homescreen, and shoved it right into Morty's face. "First of all, many of my co-workers are predators. And just so you know, my partner is a fox."

"I see." He squinted his eyes in disappointment, looking at the pic of the red fox smiling awfully close to Judy, who appeared quite happy, almost nuzzling right up to the predator. "Guess that Mammal Inclusion Initiative really lowered the standards."

"Excuse me?" Judy nearly shouted incredulously. "Nick had to go through the same training as everyone else and he passed as Valedictorian of his class!" She paused for a moment, not caring that several nearby eyes fell upon them. Tempted to say more, Judy decided it wasn't worth it. "I'm not in the mood to dance anymore. Goodbye, Morty."

As she turned to leave, Judy felt his paw grab her arm.

"Wait, Judy… I didn't mean…" he stammered trying to salvage the situation.

Judy stopped, stared harshly into his eyes, and spoke in a rather unnerving calm manner. "Morty. Please take your paw off my arm."

For a moment, the buck felt the hairs stand on his back, ears droop, and he backed off. Judy's subtle commanding tone and scary neutral expression gave him the impression that if he didn't quickly comply he would find himself dropped to the floor without hesitation.

Morty cowered away as Violet appeared next to Judy, with a concerned look on her face.

"Judy, what happened?"

"Nothing," she said. "I just need some fresh air."

The bunny left the dance floor, dodging stares, whispering gossip, and twitching noses. She made her way outside of the reception hall, and onto a nice outdoor patio, where Judy leaned against the railing, looking out at the grove.

With a sigh, she glanced at her phone, only to be surprised that there was a message waiting for her. At some point, Nick responded and she had missed the notification. Judy's mood instantly lifted and her finger hovered over the reply button. A moment of hesitation, she tapped the dialer instead, and brought the phone up to her ear with a smile.

"Hey, Carrots! I didn't expect to hear from you yet. Is the party over already? Don't tell me all of the rabbits there are lightweights and have passed out on the floor?"

"Hi, Nick." she quietly laughed. "No, no one's passed out, silly fox."

Her partner was able to pick up the edge to her real mood. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," she lied, however, she followed up her lie with a truth. "I wanted to talk to you. Did you go out in the city today?"

The fox dropped the concern for now and answered her question. "For a bit. I managed to bump into Finn and bought a few pawpsicles. He didn't appreciate my newly acquired 'cologne' and chased me away with his bat."

Judy laughed. "Nick! Though it serves you right."

"Ouch, Carrots. Who's side are you on? Such a mean bunny."

"Such a bad fox," she quipped back before becoming concerned again. "So, the smell isn't gone yet?"

"Not yet. But, if it makes you feel better, my Mom finally read about what happened in the paper and called earlier. Boy, did she give me an earful about not calling her too. Then she came by with some food and a bunch of products. Told me the smell should be gone by tomorrow."

"Aw. That's so sweet of her. And that's great news," she smiled.

"Yeah. She's the best. So, how was the ceremony?"

Pausing for a moment and glancing back at the banquet, Judy decided to just tell Nick about the wedding ceremony and described the lovely location and banquet hall. She was telling him about the huge cake and dancing with her sisters when she finally noticed her Mom behind her.

Bonnie stood quietly with clasped paws and a concerned face, not wanting to interrupt the conversation. Looking past her mom, Judy also spied Violet observing in the distance.

"Nick, hold on a moment." Judy said before lowering the phone and putting a paw over the receiver. "Mom?"

"Bun-Bun, is everything okay? Violet told me you needed some air," she gently asked.

Judy sighed. "I'm sorry, Mom. I didn't mean to make a scene. I just didn't know I would end up talking to a jerk."

"It's okay, sweetheart." Bonnie replied with a sympathetic smile. We're about to cut the cake. Your brother and sister-in-law wanted to make sure you didn't miss it."

"I'll be right there." Judy said.

Bonnie nodded and returned to the banquet hall with Violet as Judy put the phone back to her ear.

"Hey, Nick. They're gonna start cutting the cake, so I better go. Call you again when I get home?"

"I'll be here. Save me a piece." he teased.

She chuckled. "Since when do you eat carrots?"

"Well, there's a certain bunny who's always telling me to try everything."

Judy rolled her eyes. "I can feel your mockery though the phone, Slick."

"Madam, I would imply no such thing," he replied trying to sound offended.

Now she could feel his smile. "Okay. I really gotta go. Bye Nick!"

"Bye now!"

Upon returning to the banquet hall, the cake cutting ceremony began. To her delight, Judy watched as Dawn pulled a fast one on her brother and smashed a large piece of cake into his face first before he retaliated with his own cake flinging. The photographer caught all of it on film. Everyone laughed and soon every guest had a nice slice in their paws. Gideon, who was graciously invited to remain as a guest earlier by Violet, received many compliments and was able to hand out lots of business cards for his pastry business.

Once all the cake was consumed, Dawn found Judy and apologized to her new sister about the incident with Morty. Judy smiled, hugged Dawn, and let her know it wasn't a big deal. Afterwards, they danced together in a big family group. Judy then politely mingled at her table, while avoiding Morty, watched the bouquet and garter tosses, ate more food, and soon the evening came to a close. They were the last to leave, after some final goodbyes and boarded the train back to Bunnyburrow.

Back in her room, Judy slipped into her pajamas, hopped onto her bed, placing a pillow against the wall to lean on, and dialed Nick on MuzzleTime.

After a couple rings, a red fox with an extra smug grin appeared on her screen.

"Wild for Wilde," he answered while leaning back with an arm across his couch, still wearing his usual green pawaiian shirt and his dad's tie today.

"Seriously, Nick?" She laughed already. "That's just cheesy."

"You still laughed," he stated.

Judy found herself at a loss for words for a brief moment. Nick winked at her hesitation. She glared back on cue.

"Well, maybe I was just humoring you," she said.

"You're a terrible liar, Carrots." he teased.

She huffed. "I am not!"

"Was the cake good?" he shifted the topic.

She let that one go and snuggled deeper against the pillow. "It was wonderful. Gideon really knows how to bake."

For the briefest of moments, Judy noticed Nick's expression shift ever so slightly and his ears just barely flattened back at the sound of Gideon's name.

"Ah. So, our favorite baker was there."

Nick's response was rather flat and dripped with a hint of sarcasm. Judy couldn't fault him for possibly still not feeling completely welcoming yet for the fox who once bullied her. She let out a quiet sigh to pass the moment.

"So, how did the rest of the party go?" Nick asked, pushing past the subject.

"It was real great," Judy replied with a tiny hesitating slip in her tone.

"Carrots." he called her out again. "I know that tone and those words. Did something happen?"

Now Judy really had to sigh. Curse her partner for knowing her all too well.

"Alright. I didn't want to tell you but I kinda… sorta… had two incidents tonight." she said while glancing away.

Nick raised a concerned eyebrow. "What incidents?"

The bunny proceeded to tell him about the Morty fiasco before she called him and then later when she was back at her assigned table, eating some more food, another buck had tried to hit on her. Apparently, the rabbit didn't know how to approach Judy, nearly spilling wine all over her dress. Luckily for Judy, her super fast reflexes saved some embarrassment, and her outfit.

"Wow. So, how are there so many rabbits again? These guys are about as smooth as sandpaper," Nick jabbed.

The look on Nick's face and his choice of words made Judy laugh again. "They're not all that bad, Slick. Not everyone can be like you."

It had come out so naturally. Both fox and bunny paused for a moment. Judy realizing she just fed her partner's ego and was bracing herself for his retort. And there it was. Beginning with the biggest smug grin yet.

"You're right, Carrots. Not everyone can be an irresistible lady's mammal," he declared while adjusting his tie in a confident wiggle.

Judy shook her head.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that tonight," came the surprising soft follow up.

"It's okay, Nick. I did have a lot of fun seeing my family and dancing with my sisters. Dawn is so nice. She and Manny looked so happy together. Oh, she got him real good with the cake too."

The fox chuckled. "You know you have a keeper, when your lady thinks alike, and beats you to the punch."

"Do I know that? Is that how it's supposed to go, mister irresistible?" Judy teased him with air quotes.

"Ugh. Let's not go with that one." Nick laughed.

She chuckled which turned into a tremendous yawn. Judy's eyes began to droop after attempting to blink them alert.

"Sounds like this bunny needs her beauty sleep. You should get some shut eye."

"Is that an order, Officer Wilde?" Judy asked as she slipped further along the pillow behind her.

"Yes, Ma'am. Non compliance is a 10-115," he winked.

This made Judy tilt her head, look up and squint her eyes, trying to go over all the police codes in her mind, creating a mild hint of frustration, since she prided herself on memorizing them all.

"Huh? I don't know that code? What's it mean?"

"I just made it up," he smirked.

"Irksome fox," she yawned again.

"Sleepy bunny."

"Okay, Nick. I'll follow orders." She flicked her tongue out at him in mock defiance.

"Goodnight, Carrots."

A soothing moment passed between the pair, as they shared smiles. Before Nick could hang up, Judy edged closer to the screen.

"Night, Nick." She paused before the words just escaped her lips. "I miss you."

There was a longing glint in his eyes, Nick also leaned forward, his own smile curling further up his snout. "I really miss you too, Judy."

Her droopy eyelids and ears suddenly perked at the sound of her name and the gentle inflection she heard in his thick voice. Nick paused for a moment too, eyes wide, suddenly scratching his scruffy neck before quickly deflecting.

"Um… well, I should, you know… get some sleep too. Getting late. Gotta head back to work in the morning. Goodnight!"

The call ended before the bunny could reply. Judy sat in silence, blinking at Nick's contact photo, as she lowered her phone, her mind now alert, contemplating his words.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey Readers! Sorry, for the long update between chapters. I’m not dead!
> 
> So, we got to see how our favorite duo begin to feel now that they are apart after being nearly inseparable for roughly 3 months together at the ZPD. I was able to incorporate some story and characters from the recently released Zootopia graphic novel comic collection and the Zootopia Crime Files mobile game, such as the skunk parade, but with my own take on it, and getting some new canon characters and names. (like names and appearances of some of Judy’s siblings, ie Cotton, Violet, Manny, etc). I enjoy being able to borrow or twist official material when it’s available.
> 
> Again, I apologize that the birthday/gift chapter got pushed back when I teased it last update. It’s still coming. Shortly after posting chapter 11, I got an epiphany on how to proceed with the story as I was going over my general outline. The trade-off? What should be a much better overall character and plot narrative and a special change in everything happening a little bit sooner! I don’t foresee any deviations occurring at this time.
> 
> Next chapter will be Nick taking on his first real big case and what that will mean for our favorite sly fox. It’s an original idea, so it may take some extra time to write up, as I figure out the finer details, along with holiday time and travel. Judy won’t be left out of the story either. She has her small personal arc to solve too.
> 
> As always, I read and appreciate all the comments, reviews, and criticisms. Never hesitate to share any thoughts! :)
> 
> Happy Halloween!


	13. Absence and Resolve - Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bogo assigns Nick a special case upon his return from the Skunk Parade. How will Officer Wilde fare on his first solo outing? Meanwhile, Nick's parting words from the night of the reception have begun to stick in Judy's mind.

Nick pushed his way through the center revolving doors of the main entrance into the ZPD headquarters lobby, wearing his spare uniform, which had been freshly ironed to a crisp appearance. It was a quiet morning, with minimal hustle and bustle from the station's usual chaotic atmosphere.

Taking a sip of his third Snarlbucks coffee, his thoughts bounced back to last night's conversation with Judy. For a fleeting moment, he stumbled at the very end, the walls were down, and he let slip a glimpse of his true feelings. Even if the words might have seemed harmless, his tone had indicated otherwise.

Perhaps, he was overthinking it all, but it was enough to cause him to become restless for the remainder of the night, his natural nocturnal tendencies notwithstanding. Nick wasn't sure what he was going to do if Judy brought it up. The fox officer's thoughts were interrupted by an overly jovial squeal as Clawhauser noticed his entrance.

"Oh em goodness! Nick! I'm so happy you're back!" Clawhauser joyfully exclaimed, eagerly standing at attention with both paws on his circular desk.

"Heya, Claws. How's your morning, big guy?" Nick lifted the styrofoam cup and saluted with two fingers while glancing at the Gazelle snowglobe on Clawhauser's desk, now adorned with an autograph from the pop-star herself.

"It's been so great! Gazelle just sent her biggest fans a preview of her latest music video! I've already watched it ten times. You have to see it!" the cheetah gleefully answered, unable to contain his excitement.

"Glad to hear it, buddy." Nick smiled as he took another sip. "I'll take a raincheck and watch it later."

Clawhauser regained some self control as he leaned over the counter, his expression becoming more attentive. "So, you're okay now? The skunk odor is all gone?"

"All gone. One hundred percent."

"That's wonderful!" Clawhauser said with glowing relief. "Oh! Have you heard from Judy, yet?"

That question made Nick freeze in place for a split second. He did his best to form his usual smirk before replying.

"Yup!" Nick answered quickly. "She's great. You're great! Everybody's great! I'll let her know you said hi. Better get in the bullpen before the Chief blows a gasket. See ya, Claws!"

Clawhauser looked slightly confused, watching Nick hightail it away, as he peeked at the clock on his desk. It was still eighteen minutes till roll call. "Bye, Nick." he quietly waved at the rapidly departing fox.

Another surprise awaited Nick as he sauntered into the bullpen. All eyes turned to see the returning skunk parade hero and everyone began to cheer, whistle, roar, howl, toot, or clap upon his entrance.

Feeling an odd mix of mild embarrassment but nevertheless loving the attention, Nick grinned at his fellow officers, placing a paw on his chest and entertained a few small bows. "Too kind, too kind! Appreciate it fellas. I'm here till Thursday."

Once again, he jumped into his and Judy's shared seat and instinctively slid over to one side, placing his half empty coffee in front of him. Fangmeyer swung around the front row and stood in front of Nick to greet him.

"Glad to have you back, fusty fox." she said while ruffling the fur on the top of Nick's head.

"Glad to be back, drippy tiger," he rebuked, doing his best to try and duck away from her paw. After finally swatting her larger paw away, Nick patted his head fur back down. "Thanks for doing my case report, Steph."

"Least I could do, Nick." the tigress smiled.

Wolfard gave an amused look from a few rows back at the playful ribbing. "Careful, Fangmeyer. You don't want to make Hopps jealous," he teased them.

Fangmeyer chuckled and crossed her arms. "It's not like I'm trying to steal him. I know better than that. I've seen Judy angry!"

The entire room snickered. Nick felt a little heated at the implications. Before he could make a snarky comment in his defense, Chief Bogo entered the room earlier than usual.

Noticing the small group of officers gathered at the front row, he pointed with a sweep of his arm. "Alright. Break it up. Get back to your seats."

The bullpen quieted down and everyone returned to their usual spots. Bogo actually peered down at Nick for a moment, causing Nick to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Looks like our fox is back with us," he gestured to Nick before frowning. "Who cares?"

"And here I thought we had something special after the parade, Sir." Nick snarked with half lidded eyes and mockingly clasped his paws together under his chin.

The room once again erupted into laughter.

"Shut it, Wilde!" Bogo glared. "Unless you want to be on parking duty till Hopps returns after your next assignment."

As the room's chatter died down, Nick raised a curious brow at Bogo's statement.

The cape buffalo donned his glasses and raised his clipboard to issue everyone's orders for the day. "Assignments. Officers McHorn, Rhinowitz, Trunkaby… Tundratown SWAT."

The three largest mammals stood and exited the room towards the armory.

"Officers Wolfard, Grizzoli, Delgato… your teams will be assisting the VICE unit today."

The two timberwolves and lion stood and nodded at their orders.

"Officers Fangmeyer, Snarlov, Higgins… you three will be headed to Outback Island. We have increased reports of illegal kangaroo kickboxing rings. Find them and shut them down."

The tigress, polar bear, and hippo stood and proceeded to move towards the exit. Fangmeyer took the case folder from the Chief's extended hoof as she marched by.

Finally, Bogo's unamused eyes settled on his remaining officer, who sat there looking back with his usual smug grin.

"Wilde. With Hopps gone, you are my smallest officer. We have received reports of entire buildings disappearing in Little Rodentia. I need you to find out what happened and find whoever is responsible. Dismissed."

Nick hopped out of his seat and approached the case folder waiting for him.

The fox began a quip as he grabbed the case file. "So Chief, gotta send the fox into the ro—"

"Enough, Wilde. Get your tail over there and find those missing homes," the Chief ordered before exiting through the back door and closing it.

"Yes, Sir!" Nick said with a lazy salute as he looked down at his new assignment.

Making his way to his and Judy's shared desk, Nick found himself staring at one last surprise for the morning. There was a series of cards sprinkled over his messier half, along with a big bottle of cologne, sporting a big pink ribbon around it, and a curious fancy looking bag of treats.

Picking up the cologne bottle, he turned it over in his paws. Someone drew a crude picture of a fox with stinky lines and a heart over the label using a magic marker.

"Very funny fellas! Trying to tell me something?" he chuckled out loud to no one in particular with a smirk on his snout. Although he inadvertently sniffed himself just to make sure.

One by one, Nick read through the welcome back cards left by his fellow Precinct One Officers, until he got to the last card that was attached to the hefty bag and flipped it open.

"Hey Nick! We heard what happened and got you some candies we think you'll like. Let us know if you need anything. Hope to see you and Judy again soon. Love, Val and Nose."

Inspecting the bag, the cheerful logo read 'Sinopa's Sweet Tooth Shoppe'. The sweets were from Valerie's family candy store. The fox's mouth pursed in amazement. He had long forgotten what it was like to have such constant kindness and support from other mammals until he met Judy and reconnected with his Mom. And now there was a whole group of mammals who cared about his well-being and kept him in their thoughts. Like a second family. A true pack. Nick couldn't help but smile so hard, his cheeks began to hurt.

After making a mental note to thank everyone later, he gently put all of the gifts aside and plopped the case file onto his desk and opened it. With a rather atypical serious expression, Nick began to carefully read the details.

It seemed several rodent apartment building managers or landlords reported being approached by different building code inspectors or pest control contractors with official looking city documents demanding that the residents vacate the buildings for inspection or fumigation. Afterwards, once the residents were cleared, each building was reported completely gone the following morning with no way to find or contact the original document issuing mammal.

Nick frowned, ears flattening, as he turned the pages to look at the crime scene photos of the empty lots. Several rodent families could be seen in the background, crying over their lost homes and possessions. The fox narrowed his eyes. He spied Judy's notepad and carrot pen neatly set aside on her very orderly half of their desk. Standing with determination, he swiped the two items, chugged the rest of his coffee, quickly jotted down the information he needed, and strolled towards the vehicle lot. He was going to get to the bottom of this.

Jumping into Z-240, Nick adjusted the seat and steering column, tossed the notepad and pen into the passenger seat, and playfully patted the dashboard.

"Well, Hareraiser, let's go catch ourselves a homewrecker," he smiled.

Zootopia's first fox officer hit the ignition, flicked his aviators on, and merged into traffic, making his way down the main town center avenue towards Little Rodentia.

* * *

Driving past his own apartment building, Nick drove west on Walnut Street until he turned south to park on the closest cross streets adjacent to the small rodent district. He grabbed the notepad and carrot pen, proceeding on foot, through the south side of the outer lush green park. It was full of trees, benches, gravel pathways, and a small series of ponds that encased the entire district in a natural barrier from the rest of Vole Gardens within Savanna Central. The fox police officer walked past the peace statue on the main concrete path that lead to the southeast facing clock tower entrance.

Naturally, being too large to fit through the main rodent entry, Nick sauntered along the metallic decorative fence until he came to a special entryway reserved for authorized larger mammals such as himself. Once inside, he double checked the closest address, and entered the coordinates on his phone. The towering fox carefully made his way along the outer edge. Several small rodents meekly eyed the unusual intruder as he passed by. Despite being in uniform, Nick tried to assuage their fears by lifting his aviators to his head, and doing his best to appear friendly and nonthreatening.

The fox officer arrived at the nearest crime scene. Where once stood a five story rodent apartment building, now remained an empty dusty square lot. Kneeling down, he sniffed the area, there was nothing unusual. The air was filled with very faint traces of cheese and peanuts. Next, he reached into his utility belt, grabbed a magnifying glass, and dusted for pawprints, while looking for any signs of claw marks or fur. Unfortunately there was none.

Deciding to look around the adjacent buildings, Nick checked for additional clues and also questioned a few nearby residents to see if they had heard or seen anything on the night of the crime. No such luck. He knew rodents usually needed twelve hours of sleep, and with Little Rodentia's unique curfew times, it gave the would be thief plenty of time for his or her heist.

Finally, Nick took in the immediate surroundings. He noticed that the building was located very close to the main fence, along the outermost street. Looking beyond the enclosure, the nearby main street cameras were located too far away to provide any possible direct video evidence. Regardless, he pinned a few markers on his Zoogle Maps app to cross check the traffic cameras later.

Nick flipped through his notes and found the new contact information and address for one, Vince Mouzholt, who was the building manager for this location. He was now staying with his mother down the street. Making his way to the residential address, Nick found the shorter unit, kneeled down, and tapped on the door with his nail.

"Good morning. This is the ZPD," the fox greeted aloud.

An older mouse, dressed in a simple green blouse jacket and dress with a walking cane, opened the door. She eyed the police officer in front of her with a curious stare.

"Can I help you?" she squeaked.

The fox put on his best smile before answering. "Hello, ma'am. My name is Officer Nicholas Wilde. Do you know a Vincent Mouzholt? Our records say he is currently staying at this address."

"Oh, great. What has he done now?" she replied while crossing her arms.

Maintaining his friendly expression, Nick answered. "Nothing ma'am. I just need to ask him a few questions about a case. My report says he was the building manager for block #A113 on Havarti Avenue."

Before the elderly mouse could reply, a gruff voice came booming from the interior.

"Ma! Where's the cheese loaf!?"

The mouse sighed, as she adjusted her tiny spectacles, and yelled back inside. "It's not done yet Vince! Get your tail out here. There's a cop who wants to speak with you!"

"What!? Tell him I'm not here!"

"He can hear you, you big idiot! Now get out here this instant!" she ordered with a shake of her cane.

A large round mouse, wearing a greasy robe and cozy slippers with an awful case of bed fur, lumbered to the doorway. He suspiciously eyed Nick up and down.

"Mr. Vincent Mouzholt, I presume?" Nick greeted.

"That's me. What can I do you for, Officer? I already talked to the cops the other day when I filed a report," he replied and put his paws into his robe pockets.

"Sir, I'm here to continue the investigation about your missing apartment building. Can you tell me what happened exactly?"

Seeing that Nick was genuinely interested in the crime, Vince appeared to relax, and looked him in the eye.

"Coupla days ago, some gerbil in a hard hat shows up at my office, waving around papers, demanding that I gotta empty out the building for a special building inspection," Vince said while taking out his paw to gesture wildly. "Told me if I didn't do it, I'd be fined by the city. I looked at the papers. They seemed legit. So, I signed them and had all my residents vacate for the day. When I came around the next afternoon to see how things were going… the whole damn building was gone."

Nick scribbled the notes on Judy's pad with the carrot pen. "Did you get this mammal's name?"

"Papers said the name was Jimmy? Johnson? Maybe Jackson? I don't friggin remember. It was on the docs and I left them in the cheezin desk in my office, which was inside the building."

"Can you describe this gerbil for me, sir?" Nick asked, pen at the ready.

"Sure, that guy was one fugly mofo. Face only a mother could love. Big lopsided buck teeth, lazy eye, nerdy glasses, brown fur… could stand to lose a few ounces," Vince spat. "Oh, and he had this huge gold watch. Probably compensating for something."

Raising an eyebrow, Nick glanced back at Vince for a second. It was amusing to hear him be so shallow about this gerbil's looks, considering his own uncouth appearance. Perhaps Vince didn't own a mirror. Naturally, Nick kept these thoughts to himself as he continued to jot down the description.

"Did anyone else see this gerbil or witness the possible theft, sir?" Nick inquired.

"Not that I know. No one was around but me."

"Do you have a picture of the building?"

"Nah. I don't advertise. Rooms always in high demand round here. I had a real keen sense to buy that building. Place basically sold itself!"

Looking like this lead wasn't going to go any further, Nick finished his note taking, put the pad away, and took out a mouse sized contact card.

"Thank you, for your time, sir and ma'am. Here is my contact information. Please, let me know if you hear of anything else," he smiled while carefully extending the tiny card to Vince.

"Yeah. Sure," Vince puffed while stuffing the card into his robe pocket.

"Goodbye, Officer." the other mouse said warmly.

"Have a good day, bye now." Nick said as he stood back up and headed out.

The fox's ears perked as he heard Vince shouting in the distance.

"Ma! The cheese loaf!"

"Shut the front door, Vince!"

Nick chuckled to himself as he punched in the address for his next destination.

The second address proved to provide no additional physical evidence or clues. There was the same hint of peanuts mixed in with usual mouse and cheese scents. Nick took note of the location again and sauntered over to the building owner's secondary residential address.

The second building owner was a friendly middle aged lemming. She was quite chirpy and cooperative, happily answering all of Nick's questions. Her story was similar to Vince's, as she informed Nick that a chipmunk in a white pest control suit had served her the documents declaring the building needed immediate attention and to vacate all the residents from the premises. Upon, returning the next day, it was gone. Luckily, this landlord actually kept some pictures of her building and shared a photo with Nick. He took the clue and renewed his inquiry.

"Miss Lemmington, can you describe this chipmunk to me?"

"I'm sorry, Officer Wilde, he kept most of his face covered with his work outfit and a blue cap. I just remember that he had dark eyes and a twitchy nose," she replied sadly.

"It's okay, ma'am. Do you have these documents with you?" Nick asked hoping for a piece of evidence.

Miss Lemmington sighed. "I mainly stayed in the building with the tenants and left them at the apartment."

"I see," Nick said. He did his best to hide his mild disappointment.

"Oh! I do remember that there was an official seal on the last page. A paw print with a skyline. I've seen it before since I own a few properties. I have a keen sense for real estate," she happily supplied.

Jotting down this new piece of information, Nick smiled at the little rodent. "Thank you, ma'am. This is actually quite helpful. I'll do my best to get your home back."

"Thank you, Officer. Good luck to you!"

The fox left his contact info with Miss Lemmington and waved goodbye. Punching in the next scene's coordinates into his phone, Nick carefully treaded over to the last crime scene. The similarities matched the previous two locations. After surveying the area and noting the address, Nick looked at his final destination. He raised his brow in amusement when his phone pointed him to an old familiar location.

"Oh, boy…" he whispered to himself as he stared at the GPS marker in Zoogle Maps.

After a short trek down Brie Avenue, the fox officer's former place of employment came into view. Located at the corner of a T-intersection, a tall red pole signaled the location of Chez Cheez. The restaurant's name was written on a giant orange cheese shaped sign with a cheese cracker decoration at its base. The fancy fast food joint was modeled after a three story high block of cheese with the main entrance located inside of the cut wedge design.

Nick rounded the tiny parking lot, being careful not to step on any rodent vehicles, and tip-toed up to the drive-through window. A young mouse employee, dressed in a goofy orange and yellow striped vest, peeked outside, only to find himself staring at the face of a large smiling predator.

"Uh… can I like… help you?" the trepid teenager asked.

"Hello, my good sir. What's your name?"

"Um… it's Matthew," came the meek reply.

"Matt, my mammal, is your boss working today? I have a few questions for..."

The officer didn't get to finish his question when a deep voice interrupted him.

"Well, color me dumbfounded, if it ain't Nick Wilde, all grown up. I thought I recognized you coming down the street."

Nick turned his head. Walking towards him from the main entrance was a short, round, gray furred mouse, with bushy eyebrows hovering over his beady orange eyes. A tiny mustache hugged his seedy salesman smile. He was also wearing an orange striped vest and pants, an orange top hat and bowtie, with a green vest. This chubby rodent was a living embodiment of the restaurant.

"A little early for Zoolloween." he said, making direct eye contact with Nick. "Who'd ya steal the uniform from?"

"Chez." Nick greeted back with a smirk. "I'd ask who'd you steal your latest cheese recipe from, but that's not why I'm here."

The round mouse heartily laughed for a moment. "Hah. Some things never change... do they, Wilde?"

"Sure don't. Some things are just timeless," the fox quipped.

Chez grew a bit less enthusiastic and gestured rudely. "So, if you ain't here to order something, out with it already. What do ya want?"

Ignoring the attitude, Nick smugly grinned and replied in his most professional voice. "Well, Mr. Verminoff, I'm here to investigate your missing apartment building."

"Yeah? Well, tell them to send a real cop," Chez spat.

The fox officer kept his composure at the remark, however his ears tipped back by just a fraction. Internally, he cringed, remembering how he hadn't taken Judy seriously when they first met and being uncooperative during her investigation. Ironically, now finding himself in those same shoes, Nick frowned more at the thought of his old behavior, rather than the pompous rodent in front of him.

"Mr. Verminoff, I am a real cop," the fox said, bringing attention to his shiny badge while tapping it with a nail. "This is serious, sir."

"I'm serious too. I ain't talking to you, Wilde. Get off my property."

"Chez, I'm trying to help you. I could consider this obstruction of justice towards this investigation," Nick supplied with a rather serious tone.

Their agitated voices caught the attention of a small gathering crowd of passersby and restaurant patrons, who were now eagerly watching the confrontation.

"I know my rights, Officer." he replied, stressing the last word in contempt.

"Sir, I could come back with a subpoena. But I don't think either of us wants that," Nick pointed out.

"Then I'll call my lawyer," Chez shot back with crossed arms.

Before Nick could reply, a female voice chimed in from behind him. "Chez, what's going on?"

Both Nick and Chez turned to see a petite brown mouse with teal eyes, wearing a white collared dress shirt with a pinned dark tie and pants, eyeing the two mammals.

"It's nothing, Donna. Just an old acquaintance who's about to be on his way," Chez injected, looking right back at Nick with glaring eyes.

Straightening up for a moment, Nick glanced at the growing crowd of rodents, whose eyes bounced back and forth from the mouse in orange to the fox in blue. His lips curled up. If he couldn't get Chez to cooperate directly, then perhaps a little nudging from the other mice might suffice. It was time to be a fox of the people.

"Actually, ma'am…" Nick began in a very friendly demeanor, making sure his smooth voice carried to the entire block. "Mr. Verminoff here, is refusing to help with my investigation. You see, there's been several reported stolen apartment buildings, including one managed by Mr. Verminoff himself, at Carmody Road..."

Nick made an exaggerated gesture with his right paw towards Chez, causing all of the onlookers to look directly at him. Donna and the rest of the mice blinked at the shifty orange clothed mouse.

The fox, using woeful theatrics, shifted his tone to one of sorrow, making a pitiful face, ears down, and placed a paw over his chest, emphasizing his badge. "But, I need his information to help me find it…"

Murmurs and whispers spread among the crowd, and all eyes returned to Chez again, who visibly fidgeted under their judging gaze.

"Wait! Is this true, Chez?" Donna pointed an angry finger at her landlord. "That was my home too!"

"Yeah, I have a friend who's staying with me that lived in one of those buildings!" a random citizen squeaked.

"I saw that fox on the news! He stopped that runaway float! You should be helping him!"

Now the small chattering mob turned against the restaurant owner, who was wishing he could just hide under his hat and disappear. This could be bad for his reputation and business. He glared at his former employee. Nick just grinned back.

"Fine! Fine!" Chez huffed in annoyance. "What do you need from me?"

With a renewed smirk of extreme satisfaction, Nick took out the pad and pen at the ready.

"Did someone deliver to you documents demanding that you vacate the building? A gerbil or a chipmunk?"

"Yeah, but it was some hyperactive shrew in overalls and a hard hat. Said his name was Jake. Came over waving papers in my face and telling me I needed to get my residents out pronto." Chez spoke, adamantly acting out the scene. "I didn't like it, but I didn't want any trouble either. I got a real keen sense about these things. So, I gave everyone notice and got them out. Next day, I got a call here from one of my tenants screaming into the phone that the whole building was gone."

Yes. Real keen. Why did everyone keep using that word today Nick thought to himself.

Considering his luck so far, Nick frowned, and asked the next important question. "And those documents... do you have them?"

"Yeah, I got em. They're here in my safe," Chez said, pointing a thumb towards the restaurant.

A happy smile formed on Nick's snout. "Sir, I'm going to need those documents for evidence."

Glancing at the crowd, Chez sighed, gestured one moment and sulked over to his office inside the restaurant. After a few minutes, he returned with the papers in paw.

"Here," he said, handing over the papers with disdain. "Dunno what use they're gonna be to you. I tried calling that number and it just went to some insurance office down the street. Borough Farm or whatever. They never even heard of a Jake working there."

"Is there anything else you can think of? Any other witnesses? Anyone see where this shrew went? How about a photo of your building?"

"That's all I got, Wilde. You can grab a pic from the internet or something. Now, unless you gonna order a meal, I have a business to run." Chez declared while lifting his hat at Nick to reveal his rather amusing bright orange tuft of hair before heading back inside, not caring or waiting for a reply from the police officer.

Putting the tiny papers away into an evidence bag, Nick turned to the small female mouse who assisted him. "Donna, right? Thank you for your help. Really appreciate it."

"Of course, Officer. I know what it's like to deal with Chez. He ain't a bad guy. He's letting his old tenants come eat for eighty percent off till we get our homes back."

"Well, ain't that generous… wouldn't want to break the lemming bank there." Nick drawled. "You can just call me Nick."

"Okay, Nick." Donna smiled. "You mentioned there was a gerbil involved at one of the other apartments?"

"That's right."

"I met this gerbil at The Big Donut a week ago. Maybe he might know who you're looking for?"

"Really?" Nick said as his ears perked at the possibility of another lead.

"Sure. I'll call him and have him meet us at the shop," Donna offered.

"Thank you." Nick smiled before considering a quick break. "Actually, let's take a snack for the road. It's on me."

"I won't say no to a Squeaky Burger with Cheese Galore!" she chirped with clasped paws and a swish of her tail.

"Then let's make that two," Nick said as he bent back down to the timid teenage mouse at the window. "Say, Matt… I'd like to place an order. Two Squeaky Burgers with Cheese Galore to go, please."

"That'll be sixteen bucks," Matt stated.

"Eight bucks a burger!?" Nick questioned incredulously while reaching for his wallet. "That's highway robbery."

The fox had made sure to say it loud enough as he saw Chez walk by inside the restaurant. His ex-boss heard Nick and casually flipped him off with a smile.

"Stay classy, Chez." Nick drawled before handing over his cash. "By the way Matt, does Chez ever make you clean the cheese filters?"

"Sometimes…" Matt replied with an apprehensive tone.

"Boy, do I have a tip for you about those then…" Nick began with a wicked grin.

Several minutes later, both fox and mouse continued on their way. After simply chomping the burger in one bite, Nick offered Donna a ride on his shoulder, as she happily ate her meal, guiding Nick over to the famous The Big Donut shop located in the heart of Little Rodentia.

The pair arrived at the shop early and waited. Nick kept to the sidewalk on the street corner and tried not to interfere with the vehicle and foot traffic. His gaze eventually landed on the large chocolate frosted donut sign in front of him, adorning the small historic pink roofed bakery, that was built in the middle of the central roundabout.

He remembered Judy sharing the story of how she apprehended Duke Weaselton at this very spot. What a tale of events that turned out to be since she saved Fru Fru's life during the chase, which in turn, later saved their lives from being iced by Mr. Big. Nick smiled with amusement that the shifty weasel was her very first arrest. Part of him wished he could have seen it.

His musings were interrupted by the sound of his name.

"Nick? Nick? Officer Wilde!"

"Oh. Sorry, Donna. I got lost in thought," he said, glancing over to the little rodent, still sitting on his shoulder.

"It's okay. I get distracted at work all the time thinking about this guy," Donna gestured with her paw. "The one we're about to meet. He's such a dreamboat!"

Her excitement made the fox smile. "Yeah, I can see how that might keep you from doing your job."

"You have someone like that too?"

"Well, um…"

"Oh! There he is!" Donna interrupted with a frantic wave and pointed to the street below. "Hi, Dinks!"

Whew. Saved by the metaphorical bell, Nick exhaled. His gaze followed Donna's wave to the sidewalk and set his eyes on this Dinks fellow. When the gerbil in question appeared, Nick couldn't keep his mouth from pursing or his brow from rising.

Dinks wasn't exactly the dreamboat Nick was expecting based on Donna's swooning. The gerbil had a skeevy appearance, wearing a black shirt, a giant golden necklace decorated with a dollar sign in the middle, several pieces of bling on his arms, and a giant pair of black rimmed glasses. Nick shrugged to himself. Who was he to judge? He never thought he'd find himself so attracted to a cute little bunny that… and there was another distracting thought of Judy. He shook himself and returned to the task at paw.

Nick set Donna down and she skipped over to Dinks.

"Hey, lucky girl." he greeted to Donna with an air of overconfidence. "I knew I'd hear from you again. This fox with you?"

"Oh, yes! This is Nick. I thought you might be able to help him. He's looking for a gerbil."

Dinks glanced back and forth between Donna and Nick. The fox noticed he had a lazy eye.

Trying to keep up his cool guy swagger, Dinks gestured with some sort of street paw sign. "Ain't we all? Heh. Heh."

Placing a paw on his knee, Nick kneeled down and decided to warm the gerbil up. "Officer Nicholas Wilde. It's nice to meet you, Dinks. Donna speaks highly of you."

This seemed to perk the gerbil's ego. "What can I say foxy? The ladies love me. Amirite?"

As Dinks spoke, Nick noticed a rather large pair of lopsided buck teeth appear. Boy, this guy sure was a real looker he thought to himself.

Unable to help himself, Dinks had the urge to show off. "Say girl, want to share a donut? I hit payday from a new gig. Easy money. Check out this chain."

The fox and mouse both looked at Dink's bling. He held out his right arm, showing off a shiny new gold chain bracelet on his wrist. The other wrist bore a giant golden watch.

Suddenly, Nick narrowed his eyes. A light bulb had just lit up in his brain.

"Wait a second…" he muttered under his breath as he ticked off a few realizations in his mind, recalling Vince's words. "Huge gold watch, lopsided buck teeth, nerdy glasses, lazy eye, face only a mother could love…"

Nick immediately resumed a poker face. Dinks appeared to fit the description of the gerbil who served the evacuation papers to Vince. And he had just mentioned a payday from a new gig. The fox moved his paw over to his utility belt. A small click could be heard.

"Say, Dinks… if you're buying, could I get a donut too?"

"Yeah, foxy. It's on me. I got plenty of green to go around. You guys love your donuts, I hear." he said taking out a huge wad of bucks.

"Too kind, my good, sir." Nick smiled. "You mentioned a new gig? Looks pretty lucrative. I could always use a few extra bucks myself. What was the gig? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, you know, foxy. A little of this. A little of that," came the ever so slight hesitated reply with a forced smile that he held way too long.

The ex-con noticed all the signs of subtle discomfort in the gerbil's body language and a nervous shift in his undertone. The overconfidence was replaced with a hint of anxiety. Dinks had told a little lie. Nick decided to test him.

"Sure do. I know a little of this and that." Nick gestured with both paws before exclaiming in excitement. "Oh! You guys wouldn't mind if I called a buddy of mine to come share a bite, right? Loves this place. Real outspoken fella. Mouse named Vince. Lives just a few blocks away on Havarti Avenue, #A113."

It was plain as day to see Dinks visibly squirm at the mention of the name and address. He broke eye contact immediately.

"Um…"

"I'll take that as a yes?" Nick asked, giving him no time to protest, and clapped his paws together rather loudly in affirmation.

The sudden bang made Dinks practically jump out of his shirt.

"I… uh… I just remembered… I need to go… meet some of my boys. Peace!" he stammered as the round gerbil turned and broke into a comical sprint.

Nick was already preparing for this scenario and bolted right after him. "Dinks! I order you to stop!"

Donna, simply remained flabbergasted, eyes wide, watching Dinks run down the street with Officer Wilde in pursuit. "What? What's going on!?"

"Sorry, Donna!" was all she heard from Nick as he ran down the block after the chubby rodent.

To his credit, Dinks truly ran like his little rodent life depended on it, he ducked into a small alleyway, hoping to create a gap between himself and his pursuer. Nick skidded to a halt and jammed his arm between the buildings. He managed to grasp Dinks but the skeevy gerbil was slippery. Literally. Popping out of his paw, Dinks continued to run, heavy breathing between yelps of terror.

The fox pulled his arm back out, quickly wiping his greasy palm onto his pants, and perked his ears. Between Dink's breathing and the smell of his less than savoury odor, Nick knew he was heading north. Unfortunately for Dinks, Nick knew his way around the area quite well. Lunging into a sprint again, Nick turned a corner and jumped over a few smaller buildings to skip a street, being careful as to not squish any innocent rodents, as several of them began to scurry in panic.

Parkouring over another set of structures, Nick landed right in front of Dinks, who practically fell over in fright. He managed to claw back up and run down another alley. The fox rounded the block with an agile pivot, quickly closing the gap. Just as he was about to reach for the gerbil, Dinks ran into a small pack of smaller mice and shoved several of them into the street.

Nick glanced back, seeing a large rodent garbage truck heading straight for two innocent mice, who froze in terror, as the vehicle attempted to brake and swerve away.

"Oh, no!" Nick muttered as he stopped on a dime, and extended his left leg as far as he could stretch, planting his large foot right between the two mice and the truck. The truck collided with the side of his foot and ankle causing Nick to yip, with the vehicle coming to a halt. Both driver and civilians were okay.

"Ow, ow, ow…" sliding his foot away, Nick growled in pain and ire. The impact sent a minor jolt through his bone. He turned to continue the chase, with a tiny temporary limp, following Dink's perspiring scent.

Dinks managed to scramble between another set of buildings, his lungs giving way and his rodent legs aching from overexertion. He leaned against a large lidded dumpster, trying to catch his breath. Looking at a small puddle in front of him, he froze when ominous thuds echoed throughout the block, causing the water to ripple after each thump. In sheer panic, he frantically looked around, considered the dumpster, lifted the lid, and leaped in.

Curling into a ball, the smelly trash rattled all around him in the dark interior. Dinks quaked in anticipation as the thuds grew louder and then stopped. It became eerily silent for what seemed like an eternity. Feeling a premature sense of victory, Dinks sighed in relief. However, his victory was short lived as the dumpster lid suddenly flew open and the gerbil found himself staring into the smug grin of a red fox in uniform.

"Peek-a-boo! I see you!" Nick menacingly exclaimed in an unsettling jovial tone. "I've always wanted to do that. Another one for the ol' bucket list." His smirking expression transformed into a rather serious scowl. "Dinks. You're under arrest," the fox said as he lunged forward with both paws, capturing the screaming perp.

* * *

Dinks found himself, stripped of his belongings, sitting alone inside Interview Room #2 in a special seat designed for rodents. He had no idea how much time had passed. The prolonged waiting was causing his agitation to rise with each passing moment.

Chief Bogo and Nick stood on the other side of the one way glass panel, observing the perp, as he began to nervously look around the gray, drab space.

"You suspect this gerbil is directly linked to the missing buildings, Wilde?"

"I believe he's just an unknowing accomplice, Sir. I have a feeling he may not be aware of what happened to those buildings. My hunch is someone paid him to just serve those documents. We need to find out who," Nick replied.

"Very well. Find out what you can from him," the Chief nodded and crossed his arms.

"Aye aye, Sir." Nick lazily saluted and entered the room, his case file tucked under his right arm.

The gerbil immediately jolted upright, his good eye darting to his captor as he walked in, closed the door, and took a seat across the table. Nick casually placed the case file onto the tabletop, crossing his arms over it, and leaned forward with a smug face.

The continued silence was too much for poor Dinks. "I… I didn't do anything wrong, foxy! I swear!"

Nick almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost. He decided to go with a more pleasant understanding approach toward his potential lead. "Now, now, Dinks. I'm just here to get to the bottom of this. If you cooperate, things will go much smoother for you, buddy."

"What I am in for?"

"Well, for starters… you are suspected of being an accomplice to serving false city documents and theft. Then, you decided to run from an officer of the law, resisting arrest, and endangering the lives of a couple of civilians," Nick stated as he emphasized each charge by uncurling his fingers.

"Accomplice?" Dinks squeaked.

"Let me ask you something, Dinks. What was that gig you were recently paid for that you bragged about to myself and Donna?"

"What gig? Must have heard me wrong, foxy." he squeaked weakly and avoided eye contact.

Nick sighed. He reached into his pocket and held up an orange carrot. Dinks looked confused. Placing it on the table between themselves, Nick hit the playback button and leaned back in his seat.

"Too kind, my good, sir. You mentioned a new gig? Looks pretty lucrative. I could always use a few extra bucks myself. What was the gig? If you don't mind me asking."

"Oh, you know, foxy. A little of this. A little of that."

The fox let the recording continue as Dinks stared dumbfounded at the device.

"I… uh… I just remembered… I need to go… meet some of my boys. Peace!"

"Dinks! I order you to stop!"

The officer crossed his arms. "Lying won't get you anywhere, buddy. You dodged my question and ran. What were you doing on the 12th of last week?"

"Uh… that wasn't me!"

"Really, Dinks? You're going to go with that?" Nick leaned forward again on one elbow. "Look pal. I could call Vince over here to come ID you… and if he does, that would put you in even more trouble. So help me, help you."

Silence was his only reply.

Nick decided to try to appeal to this skeevy gerbil's heart. If he had one. He opened the folder under his arm and removed a few photographs. The fox slid them across the table with two fingers and fanned them for Dinks to see.

Once Dinks finally looked down, Nick softly spoke his appeal. "Listen, Dinks… I know you might be trying to uphold your street cred... but you see these empty lots? You see these mice in the background? Those families? That was their home that was taken. And not just the roof over their heads but everything they owned as well." The gerbil looked up. Nick pointed at the second picture. "See this one? That was Donna's home. Do you care about her? If so, tell me what you did and who made you do it. Please."

Ears perked at the sound of Dinks exhaling, causing the gerbil to slump into his seat in defeat.

"Alright, foxy. I was approached by this guy. Real smooth talker. Told me… hey got an easy job for easy money. Half up front. Half when I got those signed papers for him. Gave me a fake name, clothes, what to say, and an address. Guy was real street. I liked him."

"This guy. Who was he? Where did you meet him? Did he give you a name?" Nick asked. He picked up the carrot pen, eager to jot down the information.

"Didn't tell. Didn't ask. Hit me up outside of lil R when I was rolling the scene. Met up again in the park to get my pay." Dinks said.

"Dinks, what mammal was he?" Nick asked again.

"He was you, foxy." Dinks answered.

"What?" Nick replied with a puzzled look on his snout.

"A fox. Spittin image. Like a bro."

There was a long pause, as Nick absorbed this new piece of information.

The gerbil blinked a few times. "Foxy?"

Nick quickly regained his thoughts. "What was he wearing?"

"Some fly leather jacket, real slick. Jeans. One of them newsboy caps. Keepin it old school."

"Anything else you can tell me about his appearance, Dinks?"

"You know… red?"

"Dinks…" Nick said with a hint of annoyance.

"Uh… oh, he had a chipped tooth. Right in there." Dinks pointed to the leftmost part of his mouth. "That's all I got. I swear."

Scribbling down that last bit of info, Nick gathered the photos, closed the file, and stood. "Alright, Dinks. Thank you for your help. I'll see if your charges can be lessened for your cooperation."

Just as Nick was about to exit, he paused as Dink's spoke up one last time.

"Foxy… I didn't know… about them homes," he said with a genuine sorrowful expression.

Nick responded with a sympathetic glance. "I know."

The gerbil flashed a peace sign which the fox returned in kind and exited the room, closing the door behind him. Outside, Chief Bogo uncrossed his arms and acknowledged his officer.

"Good work, Wilde. I'll have Andersen take care of Dinks. Go and follow your leads," Bogo said with a curt nod. "Find this fox and bring him in."

"You got it, Chief." Nick said quietly as he trudged to his desk with ears down.

Back at his desk, Nick reviewed all of his notes. A red fox had paid Dinks, and probably the other two rodents, to serve fake city documents to vacate three buildings and stole them. Now it was a matter of figuring out how did he steal them and what did he do with them.

Rapping his nails softly on his desk with his chin resting on the other paw, Nick sat staring at a photo of one of the apartment buildings. What would anyone do with a rodent building? What would he do if he was taking them? The first thought that popped into Nick's mind was perhaps deconstructing the homes. A flashback of himself and Finnick selling pawpsicle sticks to the construction yards appeared in his mind. Maybe the parts were worth more than the whole? Could he also have pawned any valuables left inside?

Nick leaned back in his swivel chair and took a deep breath, mumbling to himself. "Okay… I still have time today. Need to head back out and check the construction sites, check some nearby pawn shops, go over those traffic camera feeds..."

His growling stomach interrupted his thoughts. With a heavy sigh, he rubbed his belly. "Guess I better grab some food on the way too, but first thing's first."

The fox reached over to the transparent evidence bag and looked at the tiny evacuation documents from Chez. With his phone's camera, he zoomed in and snapped a picture of the special paw emblem. He would need to find out where that seal came from later. For now he needed to drop off the documents at the crime lab to be examined.

Walking by Clawhauser's desk, Nick took a moment to get the cheetah's attention.

"Hey, Claws. I need a favor, buddy."

"A favor? Sure, anything for you, Nick!" Clawhauser replied with a huge goofy grin.

"Great!" Nick said as he happily tapped away at his phone and then looked back up. "Can you get me a list of all traffic cams surrounding Little Rodentia, especially the ones by those coordinates, I just emailed to you?"

"You got it! I'll get right on that," the bubbly cheetah smiled.

"You're the best, Claws. I'll catch you later. Bye now!" Nick gratefully waved as he headed down to the lab.

Finding himself in the crime lab, Nick surveyed the scene. It looked like the only available technician was a sloth named Hurriet. Simply shrugging to himself, he made his way over and waved to his fellow co-worker.

"Hey, Hurriet! It's good to see you," Nick greeted with a big smile.

The brown sloth, wearing a white lab coat and a striped v-neck shirt with an aquamarine teardrop shaped stone necklace, slowly raised her safety goggles over the top of her blue streaked hair. "Hello… Officer… Wilde. Good… to… see… you… too. How… can… I… help… you… this… afternoon?"

"Listen, I have this piece of evidence here... " Nick said holding up the bag with the tiny papers. "I was wondering if you could analyze it for me?"

"Sure… I'm… finishing… some… work… for… Officer… Grizzoli. I'll… get… started… as… soon… as… I… can!" the sloth said as she gradually raised a giant claw in the air.

"You're aces. I owe you one," Nick said, holding the evidence bag out. "I'll be out following some leads, then I'll be back in the evening."

"No… problem… Officer… Wilde," Hurriet replied with a slow smile as she took several long moments to finally take the evidence bag from Nick's paw.

Nodding with gratitude, Nick waved after depositing the papers into the sloth's capable hands and exited the lab, heading back to the vehicle lot. Jumping into the driver's seat of Z-240, he gunned it out of the ZPD parking lot. There was only a few business hours left in the day and he had several stops to make.

* * *

Judy packaged several rolled up newspapers full of carrots, radishes, and cucumbers. She handed the full bag to her customer who thanked her and hopped away with her small family of kits.

With a sigh, she peeked at her phone, which was laying next to her behind the wooden counter. It had been almost two days since she talked to Nick. She tried to call a couple times yesterday but each time it had gone straight to voicemail. Perhaps he was busy working on a case. At least there hadn't been any crazy stories involving the ZPD in the papers or on the evening news. Still, there was this odd uneasy feeling in her heart. Judy missed hearing his bad jokes, his terrible puns, his infuriating teasing, his voice…

His voice.

Her mind skipped to the night of the wedding when they last chatted once again. How her own feelings about genuinely missing him just came right out. The way Nick conveyed those same words back to her. The way he said her name. It felt so different then all the other times before.

"I really miss you too, Judy."

It jolted her sleepy mind awake and somehow made her heart skip a few beats. After Nick abruptly ended the call, she lay awake staring at the ceiling that night, curled up with a fox plushie she bought a few days after Nick had walked out on her at the press conference. At the time, it had been a reminder of what she had lost. A friend she had hurt. A friend she wanted back.

Now, she started to have different thoughts. Those six innocent words were causing a growing desire to return home. Judy's nose twitched mid thought. Was she just imaging things? Was she being a dumb bunny again?

The sound of a loud thud interrupted Judy's thoughts. She looked over to see her parents watching her as Stu dropped off another crate of freshly picked vegetables.

"Hey there, Jude. Your mother and I were just thinking… we appreciate you helping out while you're here but shouldn't you be resting on your vacation?"

"Your father's right, Bun-Bun. You look tired. Why don't you go back to the burrow and get some rest or spend some more time with your brothers and sisters? We can get Maude or Dale to watch the stand," Bonnie said with a concerned tone.

Judy sighed. "I'm fine, you guys...really! I like helping."

Bonnie and Stu shared a glance.

"We're just worried, honey," Stu said with a comforting smile.

Knowing her parents could be really persistent at times, especially her dad, Judy decided to compromise. "Okay. How about I finish up here and then I'll head home in an hour?"

"Okay, sweetheart. I'll let Maude know," Bonnie said while taking out her phone to text her daughter.

"Terrific! I'll unpack these veggies and let's refill the stand," Stu said as he bent down to over the crate of produce.

Glancing at her phone again, Judy decided that she would try calling Nick once she got home. In the meantime, she joined Bonnie in setting the veggies for display as Stu handed them out.

Maude arrived a few minutes before the top of the hour to relieve Judy. She drove her sister back to the burrow before returning to the roadside stand. Judy quickly showered and ate a small meal before making her way back down to her bedroom.

Hopping onto her bed, Judy made herself comfortable and tapped the MuzzleTime quick dial for Nick. It was 6:49PM. Hopefully, he would be home by now. The dialer continued to ring. Just as her ears fell in potential disappointment, her partner's face appeared on screen.

"Nick!" she exclaimed rather excitedly with ears shooting back up and a big smile formed on her muzzle.

"Hey, Carrots." he replied smiling back at her.

Judy's brow shot up. Nick was still in his uniform, with a rather extra large Snarlbucks cup in his paw, and what looked like Precinct One behind him in the background.

"You're still at work!?"

"Sure am. Sorry, I haven't called… lost track of time," he replied with a yawn.

"Oh… am I disturbing you? I could always call you later or…" Judy said, suddenly feeling bad. Upon closer inspection, Nick appeared to look very tired.

"What? No! I could use a break," he sighed.

"Are you working a case?" she asked with a mix of excitement and concern.

"Yeah. Bogo assigned me to find these three missing apartment buildings in Little Rodentia," Nick supplied. "I'm probably the only one who can move around there without knocking everything over."

"Wait… someone stole entire buildings!?" Judy asked with mild shock.

"That's right. I found some early leads but they've all gone cold. Thought maybe they were being stripped down or sold off. Spent the past two days visiting every construction site and pawn shop I could think of. Even asked the cybercrime guys to check the usual websites for any suspicious sales. Then, I spent all night searching the jam cams around the district. Nothing. Ended up falling asleep at our desk." Nick glanced to the side with a frown.

The bunny's ears fell and her frown matched her partner's. Judy tapped the side of her phone in thought. "Maybe I could help? I can just cut my vacation short and…"

"No…" he abruptly cut her off with flattened ears.

Judy paused and blinked. She hadn't expected that sort of response from Nick.

Seeing her expression sour, Nick immediately explained. "I didn't mean it like that… I just… need to do this one on my own, Fluff. I hope you'll understand."

There was a few awkward moments of silence. The bunny's nose twitched. Judy felt a little hurt. This wasn't how she intended the conversation to go. She looked back into Nick's eyes. There was a sort of fire and determination sparkling within them. Clearly, something about this case was important to him.

"Okay, Nick." Judy whispered and did her best to smile for him again. "If there's anything you need, you know I'm always here for you," she added.

"I know, Carrots." he replied with a wink. His smug grin finally returning.

"So… how are things otherwise?" she asked while patting her ears back, trying to change the subject, realizing her question sounded a bit lame.

"Other than myself being half coffee bean now, I'm making do." the fox said as he wiggled the styrofoam cup in his paw and took a big gulp. He decided to switch the topic away from himself. "What have you been up to at the ol' homestead?"

Snorting at his coffee comment, Judy replied, "I was helping at the veggie stand again. My parents kinda scolded me that I should be resting on my vacation."

"Words of wisdom, Carrots. You should listen to them," he said with a quick finger gesture.

"Whose side are you on anyway, Slick?" Judy glared.

"The left side!" Nick declared.

"Wait…" Judy paused as her mind realized Nick's groan worthy pun. She dramatically rolled her eyes at him. "You are such a…"

"Adorable Wiseguy?"

"I was gonna say jerk." she smiled.

Before Nick could quip back, his desk phone began to ring. Judy watched her partner look offscreen to his side.

"Hold on..." Nick said as he picked up the receiver. There was a very long pause and an exchange of words before he hung up. "Well, looks like Hurriet finished analyzing some evidence for me. Almost forgot about those papers. I better go check them out."

The bunny frowned but took a deep breath to force a smile. "Okay, Nick. I know you can do this. You'll find whoever took those homes."

"Thanks, Fluff."

"Call or text me later when you get a chance?"

Nick nodded with a quick two finger salute. "Will do. Take care."

"You too. Bye…" Judy waved as she watched the call end.

Her paws and phone fell in disappointment onto the soft mattress. Judy had hoped they could chat longer but she knew her partner needed to work. The bunny's lips curled back into a pleased smile. She was so proud to see Nick caring so much about his assignment.

Deciding to do her best to patiently wait, Judy peered at her phone, gazing upon their picture for several moments, before placing her phone on her desk and headed back upstairs to spend some time with her family.

* * *

Despite a mix of joy and doleful emotions from his brief conversation with Judy, Nick entered the crime lab with gusto, hoping that Hurriet might have found a new clue. The fox officer had temporarily forgotten about this piece of evidence while he chased after those more time sensitive hunches.

Unfortunately, his excitement was premature and short-lived. The sloth informed him that the paper was simply standard 24 lb white acid-free bond paper, typically used by official government and legal offices. The seal itself was stamped in standard ink. There was no other traces of anything else to be found.

Finding himself back at his desk, Nick scowled at his open case file. He absent mindedly took a bite of a handful of sweets from the candy bag with a loud sigh. The fox reached for the notepad and flipped back to his notes from Miss Lemmington. She had mentioned seeing this seal on real estate related documents.

Crunching away at the candy, his mind focused back on the lab results as he chewed. Government and legal offices used this paper stock. Government and legal. Legal. Staring at the bag in front of him, his eyes suddenly widened in realization. Perhaps, the news wasn't all for nothing after all. If the paper was authentic, it probably did come from an office that had to do with city properties.

The fox officer quickly swiped his phone and made a call.

"Hi Nick!" answered the melodious voice after a few rings.

"Val. How's my favorite sassy lawyer?"

"Flattery will get you everywhere, officer. How are you?" she replied.

"I'm good. Say, I wish this was a social call but I need your help with something," Nick stated.

"Shoot."

"I'm going to text you a picture of some documents. Tell me if you recognize the seal stamped on the bottom of the page."

Nick moved the phone away from his ear and tapped the picture over to Valerie.

"Got it. Yes, I've seen this before. It's the official seal of the Zootopia Planning Commission."

"You don't say?" Nick's voice perked up at the thought of a new lead.

"Yup. Been there a couple of times for a court case. Their office is on the second floor of City Hall. The head commissioner is a county clerk named Yolanda Pundamilia. Though you're a bit out of luck… they'll be closed at this hour. And you'll need an appointment."

"How can I get one?"

"You're in luck. Yolanda owes me a favor. I'll call her first thing in the morning and see what I can do."

"If you can get me in, let's use an alias," he suggested.

"Hm. Okay. You can be my brother for a day. What do you say, Joseph Sinopa?"

"I knew I could count on you, Val." Nick grinned with renewed energy.

"Anytime."

"Oh! Thank you again for the candies. You and Nose are the best."

"Don't mention it. Try not to make the evening news again, Officer Wilde." she teased.

"No guarantees, Miss Sinopa. Bye!"

Hanging up the phone, Nick eagerly swiveled in his chair, and logged into his computer. It was time to look up everything he could about the ZPC and Yolanda in the ZPD mammal database. First thing in the morning, he would be heading to City Hall.

Finally, allowing himself to get a full ten hours of beauty sleep, Nick stepped with purpose as he entered the main lobby of City Hall. Attempting to not arouse any suspicions incase it might be a possible inside job, he decided to wear civilian clothes to go with his temporary alias, opting for a regular buttoned white dress shirt, the violet tie, and a dark pair of slacks.

Taking the stairs, he sauntered over to the west wing and arrived at the small ZPC reception area. The fox double checked the time on his phone. Valerie had texted that she secured him an 8AM appointment. It was 7:58AM. Right on time.

Nick glanced down the hall, his eyes fell on a door plaque at the far end that read 'Yolanda Pundamilia'. He found his destination. Before he could take another step, Nick's ears perked at the sound of a voice being directed towards him.

"Phil? Is that you?" a cheerful but baritone female voice called out to Nick.

Turning his head, Nick's eyes trailed up to the secretary sitting behind the reception desk. She was an elephant, with large amber eyes, and dressed in typical office fashion.

Realizing her mistake, she was quick to apologize. "Oh… I'm sorry, sir. You look just like a friend of mine."

The fox wondered if she thought all foxes looked alike. Shrugging it off, Nick simply smiled back. "No apologies needed. I get that a lot. Your friend must be one handsome fella."

The bright eyed secretary chuckled. "Can I help you with anything, sir?"

"Joseph Sinopa. Here to see Miss Yolanda Pundamilia," Nick introduced himself with a paw across his chest.

"One moment, Mr. Sinopa. Ah, yes. I see you right here for 8AM." she said while bringing up a schedule on her computer monitor. She pointed with her trunk. "Down the hall. Far door. I'll let Miss Pundamilia know you're here."

Nick glanced at the secretary's name badge. "Thank you very much, Rebecca." he said with a friendly nod and proceeded down the hallway.

With a brief knock, Nick opened the door and stepped into the office. There on the opposite side of the room behind a very large mahogany desk, sat Yolanda. She was a zebra wearing a pink dress shirt with a simple blue business jacket and a pearl necklace around her neck. Yolanda stood and eyed Nick with her teal eyes before greeting him.

"Good morning, Mr. Sinopa. Please have a seat," she said gesturing to the two large chairs in front of her.

"Morning, ma'am," Nick replied as he hopped into the left seat.

"What can I do for you? Your sister, Valerie, told me this was important but didn't say why. I pushed back my meeting with Herds and Grazing to see you," the zebra bluntly stated as she crossed her hooves on the desk.

"And I appreciate that, ma'am. It is important." Nick said as he reached for his wallet, flicking it open to reveal his badge as he placed it on the desk for Yolanda to see. "I'm actually Officer Nicholas Wilde, ZPD."

Yolanda nearly jumped in her seat. "Am I under arrest!?"

"No, no… but I do need to ask you some questions," the fox officer said with an easy going yet authoritative tone. Nick decided to get straight down to business. "I need you to tell me about this seal."

Nick opened the camera app on his phone, brought up the picture of Chez's documents, and slid it across the desk.

Picking up his phone, Yolanda studied the image, before handing it back to Nick.

"That seal is our official stamp for all building code inspections, large residential remodeling or repairs, and construction projects. They all must be officially stamped before any work can commence," the county clerk supplied. "What were these documents used for?"

"Let's just say someone used this stamp, on official legal paper, to vacate several apartment buildings in Little Rodentia before stealing them," Nick said.

"Oh my god…" Yolanda gasped.

The ex-con watched her body language carefully. Her reaction was genuine but Nick still couldn't rule out the possibility of involvement.

"How do you stamp these papers, Mrs. Pundamilia?" he asked bluntly.

The zebra turned to gesture at the display case behind her. "With these. We keep the official stampers locked away."

"May I?" Nick asked as he stood, gesturing to the case.

"Certainly, Officer."

Nick walked up to the display case and carefully examined it. The case was a plain modern looking frame of black anodized aluminum with a large sliding glass door and a small lock near the bottom. He tugged on the handle to test the slack and check for tampering. The lock appeared to be very simple. Nick bent down to inspect it more closely. If he so desired, it would be easy to pick it with a couple of paper clips.

Standing back up, his eyes jumped from object to object till they landed on the stamper set. A dozen stampers sat neatly aligned in a clear encasement. Each one reserved for use on appropriately sized paper. The seal design was a paw print over an abstract city skyline with an inversed Z in the middle, surrounded by a thick circular border. Exactly like the one on the documents.

He kept his eyes trained on the stamper set. "Who else has access to these?"

"Just myself. I keep the key inside my office safe. My assistant Rebecca, often retrieves the stampers from the display case and handles much of the paperwork." Yolanda said.

Nick glanced in her direction with a considering look.

"You don't think that…?"

"I can't rule anything or anyone out, ma'am." the fox stated honestly. "Including yourself."

"I understand."

The clerk was being surprisingly cooperative.

"Okay, ma'am." Nick began as he pulled out his notepad and pen. "I'm going to need alibis for the following days…"

After several minutes of questioning, Yolanda provided Nick with an entire copy of her digital calendar and schedule for the past two weeks, along with the names and phone numbers of mammals she had seen or contacted outside of office hours. Satisfied with the information, Nick's gut was letting him know that she seemed innocent but he would still need to cross check her information at the station. He flipped the page to a clean sheet.

"Now… what can you tell me about Rebecca. Please start with her full name."

Yolanda leaned back in her seat. "Rebecca Lynn Tembory. Very hard working and professional. She's been with me for many years. No immediate family of her own. She has a brother who she visits often." The zebra paused with a heavy sigh. "I just can't imagine she would ever be involved in something like this."

"But she would know about these specific types of documents, correct?"

"Correct, Officer."

Glancing back at the door, Nick remembered how Rebecca mistook him for another fox. Dinks had mentioned how the fox who approached him also strongly resembled Nick. "Have you seen another male fox visiting this office recently?"

She looked back at Nick with a confused expression. "No, Officer. I have not. But I do not keep track of all personal visitations for my staff."

"If…" Nick began. "If she's involved… I doubt she'd leave any evidence on her computer, but I will need permission to access it. And yours as well. I will get a warrant if necessary."

"That won't be a problem. I'm willing to help," Yolanda offered.

"That's very appreciated, ma'am. I need a record of every document created or printed from the past thirty days from both of your computers."

"Done. I can do that right now."

"If you please," Nick said with a smile.

She nodded and began to sort through the documents on her computer.

Nick came around to observe over her shoulder, patiently watching the various ZPC documents appear onscreen. None of the documents issued evacuation notices to any buildings with Little Rodentia addresses. As he scanned the documents, Nick noticed several Little Rodentia district papers referencing bold nine digit serials.

"Miss Pundamilia, what are these nine digit codes?" he asked while pointing at the latest document on screen."

"Ah these…" Yolanda pointed a hoof. "We place special construction identification numbers inside all rodent buildings since they aren't built the traditional way, in case of deconstruction, repurposing, or relocation. If a building is moved or demolished, we verify its ID and update the entry here in our registry."

"So, all of them have this ID? Would this be a foolproof way to identify the building, even if the outside's been tampered with or modified?"

"Yes, Officer. As long as they didn't destroy or remove the foundation." the clerk answered.

"Where exactly would it be located? Inside?"

"Correct. It would be inside the front right corner. Do you know the addresses of the missing buildings?"

"Sure, do!" Nick said as he flipped to the appropriate page on his notepad and held it for Yolanda to see.

The zebra looked over the addresses and began to enter them in the ZPC portal. Soon the results populated on the monitor. Yolanda turned the monitor so Nick could see.

"Here you are, Officer. 1138 Carmody Road's special ID is ZPC-LR-M416. A113 on Havarti Avenue is ZPC-LR-J716, and 1701 Camembert Street is ZPC-LR-S916."

Scribbling the information down, Nick formed a pleased grin. After another hour of searching and bringing up all requested files, Yolanda copied them all onto a flash drive. Nick sealed it away into an evidence bag he brought with him.

"Anything else?" Yolanda asked.

"When do you and Rebecca usually go home?"

"We close around 5PM. But she often works late most days and closes the office after I leave."

The fox took note of that and looked at the zebra across the desk. "Thank you for your assistance, Miss Pundamilia. Please keep this meeting between us," Nick said as he gathered his belongings.

"I hope you get to the bottom of this, Officer Wilde." Yolanda replied.

"Me too. Good day, ma'am." the fox nodded and exited the building, heading back to Precinct One.

After changing into his police uniform in the locker room, Nick was back at his desk, reading up on Rebecca. She had a squeaky clean record. Nothing unusual or out of the ordinary. Her only living relative was a younger brother named Earl Tembory. The fox officer decided to look up Earl's information. Just as Yolanda shared, Earl lived in Savanna Central off of Herd and Pachyderm. Earl appeared to be a single dad with a young son named Earl Jr. who was enrolled in a local community college.

Not finding anything else useful, Nick decided to drop by his apartment, grab lunch, and get another change of clothes. Once the hour was up, he returned to the station. Clawhauser was on his late lunch break, stuffing a pawful of pastries into his gleeful face.

"Heya, Claws! Are any other officers around on break?"

"Hey, Nick. Officers on break? Oh! I saw Officer Grizzoli taking a doggie bag back to his cubicle. He should still be there!" Clawhauser informed and pointed with a chocolate covered thumb.

"Thanks pal!" Nick said as he waved and headed towards the timberwolf's desk.

The fox leaned up against the white timberwolf's desk space and knocked on the wall.

"Oh hey, Nick!" Grizzoli greeted with a mouthful of lunch.

"Alex, buddy. Sorry to bother you on your break but what time is your shift over?"

"I'll actually be off around three today. What's up?" he asked after swallowing his bite.

"Hate to ask for a favor, but I need your help tailing a suspect this afternoon. There's two county clerks from the Zootopia Planning Commission that I believe could be behind the missing rodent buildings and I won't be able follow both of them. It's no problem if you can't," the fox officer asked.

"It won't be a problem, Nick. I'll help you out, buddy!" Grizzoli smiled. "When and where?"

"5PM out by City Hall. Let's meet outside at 4:30."

"Got it."

"Thanks Pal. I'll fill you in there," Nick smiled and gave a friendly pat on his fellow officers back.

Grizzoli gave him a thumbs up and went back to wolfing down his lunch before having to finish his reports for the day.

Nick went back to his desk and cross referenced Yolanda's alibis, spending time on the phone with all of the mammals who could vouch for her previous whereabouts, and reviewed her documents again. She seemed to check out clean so far and nothing additional was gleaned from her files. As 4PM approached, he headed back to the locker room to change. Instead of his usual pawaiian shirt and tie combo, the fox changed into a rather neutral looking gray shirt, no tie, jeans, and a dark cap.

Exiting the station, he headed to city hall to loiter around the outside. Leaning against the side of the adjacent building, Nick mammal watched the various mammals who were leaving work for the day. Grizzoli soon arrived in civilian clothes and leaned against the wall next to Nick. He informed the timberwolf about his zebra target, Yolanda. Once he was filled in, Officer Grizzoli strolled away to a nearby bench and casually watched the entrance.

Around 5:23PM, a well dressed zebra exited the building. Grizzoli glanced to Nick who signaled him with a nod. Grizzoli stood and followed the zebra as she headed east towards the subway entrance. 7:06PM rolled around. Rebecca finally exited the building, strolled down the stairs, and headed south, unbeknownst that she was now being tailed by a police officer.

Rebecca made her way down to Savanna Central. Nick was in pursuit. He remained well hidden in the crowd, keeping the right distance, expertly drifting through the large herds and packs of mammals around him. Years on the streets, thought him how to stealthily move about the city on foot. Fox and elephant arrived on Herd Street. Nick noticed Rebecca stop and he ducked out of sight as she walked up to a store. She knocked on the door, despite the hanging closed sign, and after a moment, another elephant let her inside.

Biding his time, Nick stayed out of sight for a few solid minutes. Confident that enough time passed, he sauntered along the sidewalk and casually checked out the store front. The signage read 'Earl's Old Fashioned Toy Emporium'. Looks like her brother owned a toy store. He could see some lights upstairs above the store. It appeared the Tembory family lived on the upper level above the business. Three elephant silhouettes could be seen mingling behind the blinds.

The fox's eyes fell back to the windows and gazed upon all of the various expensive looking toys on display to allure window shoppers. Nick saw a gorgeous train set going around a small track. He always did want one of those as a kit. Next, his eyes bounced to the various other large mammal sized toys: a detailed wooden car, giant letter blocks, hand painted figurines, a giant top next to an enormous yoyo. Finally, his eyes fell on some hand crafted dolls that were placed all around a very realistic looking three story dollhouse building. Admittedly, he marveled at the details of the huge toy.

"Wow. That dollhouse sure looks amazing," he muttered to himself. "Looks just like a real building." Suddenly, Nick paused. He put his face right up to the glass and squinted.

"Like a real building…" he trailed off. Gauging the height of the building, he leveled his paw up to his stomach to match the height of what a three story Little Rodentia building would typically be.

He slapped himself on the snout. Could this dollhouse right in front of him be one of the missing rodent buildings? Nick nonchalantly pulled out his phone and snapped a few photos of the dollhouse. Satisfied with his newfound potential evidence, he immediately left. It was time to get back to his desk ASAP.

Entering the building, Nick rushed past Clawhauser and slid to a halt at his desk. He flung open the case file and took out the three photos he had of each building. Bringing up the photos from the toy store, he lay his phone down to compare them.

There was a near perfect match.

The building exterior had been repainted to a more pleasing teal color, the trimmings, railings, and outer decor was repolished, and all outside building identification was removed. There was no traces of any identifiable personal items left inside either. Otherwise the building was an identical design and size. If he was correct, this building was the one that was stolen from Chez and Donna.

Nick needed get a hold of that dollhouse so he could check if it had a ZPC ID number in the foundation. He had enough probable cause to get a warrant but that wouldn't help him catch the fox who was supposedly involved in all of this as well. He also needed more concrete proof of Earl's and Rebecca's possible involvements.

His foxy brain formulated a plan.

Gathering everything he needed, Nick sent a message to Grizzoli to contact him on his cell if anything suspicious came up with Yolanda. Nick exited the precinct, heading south towards his apartment. He picked up his phone once again and dialed his Mom, as he made his way through the crowded evening sea of mammals.

"Hi Mom!...Yes, yes, I know I haven't called you after you dropped off those anti-odor products… I'm fine by the way… Yes, the smell is gone… Listen, I have a favor to ask. Can I borrow your makeup kit? No… No, I can't because she's not here, remember? I don't think she owns any makeup anyway. No, Mom… I don't have any kinks I haven't told you about…"

Nick's last statement caused a few mammals to curiously glance his way from his out of context phone conversation. He simply smiled and looked away.

"It's for a case… Yes?... No, I can't tell you why. Okay, I'll be there in a bit to pick it up… You're the best!... Love you too. Bye!"

The fox exhaled a deep breath. His mom will probably never let him live this one down. All in pursuit of making the world a better place right? Nick let himself enjoy a chuckle. Probably best not to tell Judy either.

Soon he arrived at his complex. Too tired to take the stairs, he rode the elevator up to the sixth floor. He knew Judy would call him lazy for doing so. Nick smiled at the thought of her. Entering his home, he jumped onto the couch and allowed himself a stretch. His gaze fell upon the set of pictures all carefully placed around his living room. Most of them being pictures of him and Judy. Boy, did he miss her so much. Nick kicked himself for not taking the chance to call her, having been wrapped up in this case once again. But it was business first.

Now came the next fun phone call. Nick thumbed the speed dial for Finnick.

"Nick." came the usual growl on the other end.

"Hey, Finn. How are ya, big guy?" he said with a smirk.

"Whatcha want?"

"You mean I can't just call my old buddy and see how's he doing?" he feigned sadness.

"Out with it, Wilde."

"Okay. Okay. Do you still have the elephant suit?" Nick asked with perked ears.

"Yeah, I still got it. Why?"

"Are you free tomorrow?"

"Thought you bailed on the pawpsicle business. The boy scout pay not enough for you all of a sudden?"

"No, no… I need your help for a case," the red fox said with a devilish grin.

"What the hell makes you think I'm gonna do that?"

"Please, Finn." Nick pleaded. "I'll make it worth your while!"

Nick heard a loud angry sigh through the speaker. "What are we doing?"

"How do you feel about being my daughter for a day?" Nick said while bracing himself for the response.

"You want me to be WHAT for a day!?"

"C'mon, buddy. We've done worse. I really need you on this one," he stated with a sincere tone.

There was a very long pause before Finnick finally replied. "Fine. But you owe me big time, Nick." he spat. "And if you kiss me tomorrow or act all mushy… I swear I'll kick your tail right in front of whoever we hustlin."

"You'll always be number one in my book, Finn. Come by my place tomorrow morning," Nick said with a victory smile.

"I'll be there. Ciao." Finnick said before quickly hanging up.

Satisfied with his plan coming together, Nick rubbed his paws with an evil smirk. Looking at the time on his phone, it read 8:49PM. It wouldn't be too late to call Judy for a few minutes before heading over to his Mom's. Punching her MuzzleTime contact, he leaned against his cushy couch and waited.

It barely took one ring before she answered.

"Hey Slick!" came the joyful greeting with lots of little voices in the background.

"Hi, Carrots. How's ZPD's finest doing today?" he teased.

He could hear her scoff. "Well, I believe I share that title with a certain dumb fox. I'm actually babysitting a few dozen of my brothers and sisters while my parents are in Podunk visiting Dawn's parents. We're playing cops and robbers!"

"Of course you are. Just can't stay away from anything police related, huh?" Nick chuckled. "And I knew you wouldn't be resting, Officer Fluff. Hopeless bunny."

"There's nothing wrong with being passionate about what I love to do, nettling fox," she shot back.

"Oh, that's a new one. You're getting better at this."

"And you're getting worse," she stated. "How's your case? Did you crack it?"

"Not yet. But I have a new lead I'm following up in the morning."

"That's exciting! So, do you know who might…" Judy abruptly paused. "Hold on."

Nick's ear twitched as he heard an excited girly voice interrupt their conversation.

"Judy! Judy! Who are you talking to?"

"It's my partner, Nick!" she said looking offscreen.

"The fox we saw on TV!?"

"Yup..."

"Can I see?"

Judy chuckled. "Of course. Come here."

Judy extended her arm and a small cream colored, green eyed, bunny in a powder blue dress with a purple star in the middle hopped into her lap. She was also wearing a giant police hat. Judy's sister curiously pushed her face up to the front facing camera with a twitchy nose."

"Well, hello there little lady." Nick smiled at the new face on his screen.

"Hi! I'm Cotton! I saw you on TV! Are you Judy's boyfriend?" the little bouncy bunny blurted, gazing up to her sister behind her.

Both fox and rabbit became speechless with wide eyes at the surprise blunt question.

"Cotton!" Judy said turning red under her fur and glaring at her giggling sister.

"But you talk about him all the time, Judy!"

With a nervous chuckle, Judy scrunched her face to peek at the phone. Her heart managed to beat a little faster. She could already see the smugness forming on Nick's face.

"Does she now? So, what does your big sister say about little ol' moi? I wanna hear all the juicy gossip."

"She said…"

"Oh, would you look at that… she says the silliest things..." Judy interrupted. "Why, don't you tell Nick about how you solved the case of the bunny bandits?"

"Okay! I caught my brothers the bandits stealing all the carrots! They tried to hide in their closet but I found them!" Cotton said proudly with paws in the air.

"I see slyness runs in the family," Nick directed a wink at Judy.

His partner just glared back and stuck her tongue out at him.

Cotton chimed in. "Do you and Judy play cops and robbers?"

"We sure do. We catch the bad guys in the city," Nick replied.

"Grandpa says foxes are bad guys!"

Judy gasped. She couldn't believe Cotton shared something like that with Nick. Her ears fell and she looked at Nick with a hurt expression.

Nick's expression never changed. He simply kept a smile on his snout and titled his head. "Do you think I'm a bad guy, Cotton?"

The bunny peered down at her little sister in anticipation. Cotton didn't hesitate at all to answer. "No! You helped those mammals on TV." There was a brief pause before she added, "And you help, Judy!"

Not realizing she was holding her breath, Judy released a sigh of relief with a warm smile.

"That's very kind of you to say, Cotton. Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

Judy wrapped her paws around Cotton and squeezed her. "Hey Cotton, I want to talk to Nick for a little bit. Why don't you go see if your brothers are trying to hide again, okay?"

"Okay! Bye Nick!" she waved furiously before jumping out of Judy's lap and disappearing.

"Bye now, little lady!" he waved back.

Wasting no time, Judy began to apologize to her partner. "Nick, I'm so sorry about what she said earlier, I didn't think…"

"Carrots," he interrupted with a smirk. "It's okay. She didn't mean anything by it. She's a sweet little kit. I like her."

"I think she likes you too."

"Guess that also runs in the family," he teased with a flirty tone.

Normally, Judy would give just as good as she got, but this time, Nick's comment made her pause. The bunny looked away for a moment. This of course didn't go unnoticed by the fox.

"Carrots?"

"Nothing. It's nothing... " Judy said as she brushed an ear back. "I'm glad you were able to call again. That case has really been taking up your time."

"Yeah..."

Before either one of them could say more, a notification beeped on Nick's end. Judy could see him squint at his screen before his eyes widened.

Nick sighed. "Forgot I need to need to swing by my Mom's tonight before it gets late. She just texted me. Have to borrow something from her."

"Oh?" Judy whispered in disappointment. "What are you borrowing?"

"Nothing important," he quickly shot back.

"Nick… remember I can tell when you're hiding something from me," Judy said in a rather low authoritative tone.

"Um… well, it's related to the case… so… I can't tell you because you're on vacation," he smirked.

"Ugh! That isn't fair!"

"Maybe I'll tell you later. I have a case to crack," he winked. "I better go before the other lady in my life won't let me hear the end of it again. Bye, Carrots!"

The fox was already beginning to wave with his fingers.

"Bye, Slick..." Judy sighed as she watched Nick's image fade away.

Judy frowned. Once again, their conversation was derailed and interrupted. Once again, Nick had to go. It was frustrating. The bunny's ears perked towards the loud sounds of sibling rivalry and agitation. Rolling her eyes, she hopped up to go break up another screaming match or pillow fight.

* * *

Finnick sat on the big navy couch in the old elephant suit, grumpy as can be, with a beer in paw. It was the only thing keeping his mind from wondering about some of his life choices. Especially the choice of agreeing to this ridiculous hustle.

"Hold still Finn, I still gotta apply the eyeliner to pretty you up. Now close your eyes." Nick said as he leaned over with the small pen.

Finn grumbled. "Watch it. You better not mess up my eyebrows, Wilde!"

"Wouldn't dream of it, tough stuff." Nick chuckled.

With dexterous paws, Nick darkened Finnick's eyelashes to give his face a more feminine feel.

"Okay, now just a little blusher for your cheeks… a dash of this nice perfume… and voila!" Nick exclaimed with a paw under his chin. He was very satisfied with the results. Grabbing a mirror, he held it up for Finnick. "Look how cute you look, my little Finola."

The fennec fox slapped the mirror away with a growl. "Don't push it, Wilde. And that's the best name you came up with?"

"Just trying to keep it easy to remember. Would you prefer Fifi? Flora? How about Flavia?" Nick suggested.

"I'd rather go with Faye."

Nick raised an eyebrow while Finnick glared icy daggers at him, just daring him to open his mouth and say something stupid.

"Faye it is!" the red fox relented with a gesture. "Let's go grab our ride."

The pair of foxes took the elevator down and exited the building. Naturally, Nick picked another plain collared shirt and tie with some dark khakis. They both strolled over to a fairly nice looking white mid-size sedan that Nick checked out from the ZPD impound that morning. Unlocking the car, they jumped in and buckled up.

"What's wrong with my van?"

"Seriously Finn? I'm trying not to draw attention to ourselves. And I can't have you be seen driving," Nick explained.

"This jellopy better have airbags then cuz you drive like a chump."

"Very funny," Nick drawled, flicked on his aviators, hit the ignition, and merged onto the street heading north.

They arrived at their destination, parked the car next to a meter in front of the shop, and hopped out. Luckily the dollhouse was still there. Nick put his aviators away. He extended his left paw to Finnick.

"Gimme your paw, Faye." he ordered.

"Why the hell do I need to hold your paw?" Finnick growled.

"Because it'll look more real. You know… father, daughter bonding. C'mon!"

Finnick gave him his right paw. "Remember what I said yesterday, Nick…" he warned before putting the trunk with the trumpet over his muzzle.

"Yeah, yeah… I remember," Nick whispered. "Now stop talking. It's show time!"

Before entering the toy store, Nick double checked his right pants pocket. Judy's carrot pen was stowed away and ready for action.

Earl Tembory sat on his counter stool behind the register, reading the morning paper, as per his usual routine. He sighed. As he turned the page, the little bell above the door signaled that a customer just walked in. Adjusting his large glasses with his trunk, he stood up to see a fox and his little kit, dressed like an elephant, enter the toy store.

"Good morning! Can I help you with anything, sir?" Earl greeted with excitement.

Nick took a moment to size up the store owner. The elephant was wearing large black rimmed glasses, a simple yellow t-shirt and baggy gray shorts. He had a warm smile and didn't seem to have an aversion to the fact that a fox just entered his place of business. The fox's nose wrinkled at the pungent smells of wood, plastics, paint, cardboard, and peanuts. Nick remembered there was traces of peanuts at all of the crime scenes.

"Good morning, sir! Yes, I'm actually shopping around for a gift."

Earl looked curiously at the small fox child dressed up as an elephant.

Catching his gaze, Nick commenced with the theatrics. "Ah, you're probably wondering why she's dressed as an elephant? You see my daughter…" he paused to ruffle the top of Finnick's head. "This sweet little cutie pie has a big imagination. Loves to pretend to be other mammals! Elephants are her favorite!"

Finnick took the opportunity to smile and bat his stylish eyelashes while emphasizing Nick's story with a little toot-toot from his trunk trumpet.

"I want to buy her a special elephant-sized present for her birthday today!" Nick declared in his most charming tone while bringing Finnick closer in with a hug.

To their surprise Earl bellowed a hearty laugh and smiled. "How wonderful! Happy birthday to you!"

The elephant bent down and held out a fairly large lollipop. Finnick gratefully accepted it, nearly falling over, and tooted again.

"It's wonderful to see your daughter using her imagination. These days I mostly see children with their muzzles buried in phones and tablets." The owner looked back to Nick. "You remind me of my son's best friend. Great kid. So, what can I help you find, Mister…?"

"Dooley. Michael Dooley." Nick introduced himself and extended his paw. "Faye here has been in a bit of a dollhouse phase. Do you have any really nice ones?"

"Call me Earl. And yes, I have a few great selections in stock for you to see," he said excitedly while shaking Nick's paw with his trunk. "Right this way, please."

When Earl left his seat, Nick spied a family portrait on the wall behind him. It was a high school graduation photo. Earl was proudly standing behind his son, who was wearing his blue gown and cap, with Rebecca to their side. He noticed Earl Jr. smiling down at another mammal in front of him. It was a red fox, also dressed in a cap and gown, smiling up to the younger elephant. The officer wondered if this fox was Phil. Perhaps the same fox who hired Dinks and the other rodents. The younger fox really did look like Nick, green eyes, and all.

Snapping out of his observation, Nick took Finnick's paw again and followed Earl. The elephant guided his customers over to the street side wall. The three mammals passed through countless shelves and aisles of toys, trinkets, board games, and accessories. It was quite the children's wonderland. The elephant presented Nick with a pawful of really nice dollhouses along the bottom shelf. However, the one in particular he wanted was in the window display.

The red fox haunched over and glanced to the fennec. They exchanged a discreet nod.

"These are really beautiful, Earl." Nick began, then turned to his daughter. "Which one do you like, sweetie?"

Finnick waddled away towards the supposed rodent building and pointed excitedly at it with the lollipop and a small toot.

"Looks like your daughter found one she liked, Mr. Dooley. That one, however, is a little pricey, but it's very high quality," Earl informed.

"Really? How much?"

"Nine hundred bucks."

It sure took a lot of effort for both foxes to not scoff at the price. Nick maintained a perfectly neutral face. "I always knew she had expensive tastes," he said, walking over to pat Finnick on the head. He still decided to try a little haggling. "It is really nice like you said. Expert craftsmanship. Maybe a little birthday discount? Eight hundred bucks?"

"For you, Mr. Dooley… I can do eight-fifty. But no less. It's the last one."

"Well, I know once she sets her heart on something, I can't say no. Deal," Nick said with clasped paws.

Pretending to jump excitedly, Finnick let out a few more toots.

"Wonderful! Would your daughter like any accessories? Or perhaps a few dolls to go with her new dollhouse?"

Nick pretended to consider the idea with a paw under his chin. He leaned over to look at the various items next to the building. There was a tiny hamster wheel, some furniture, silverware, even a few tiny appliances. Nothing that could really help further identify the building.

"No thank you, Earl. Just the dollhouse. Please," Nick said with a smile.

"Let's ring you back up at the register!" the elephant joyfully exclaimed.

Watching Earl tap away with his trunk at the old dusty register, Nick watched the price appear.

"How will you be paying today, Mr. Dooley?"

Reaching into his wallet, Nick opened it and took out a rather hefty lump of cash. "Here you are, Earl. Eight-fifty."

"Receipt?"

"Please."

The store owner handed Nick his purchase receipt. After neatly folding the piece of paper and sticking it into his pocket, another idea popped into Nick's devious mind. He reached into his right pocket and activated the recorder on the pen.

"It was a pleasure, Earl. Say… you said the dollhouse was your last one? Will you be expecting any more?"

"You'd like to purchase another, Mr. Dooley?" Earl asked with a surprised tone.

Nick made an exaggerated glance towards Finnick and signaled to Earl that he wanted him to lean closer. Earl did so.

"Between you and me…" Nick whispered. "I'm a sucker for spoiling my little girl. I know she's going to want to have a nice set and I'd love to surprise her with another one."

"Well, I'm not sure when I can expect another. My son, EJ, is the one who found the artist who built it. When he's back from school, I can ask him to contact the artist and place an order for you, if you'd like?"

The red fox couldn't grin any wider. "I'd love that, Earl."

After Nick provided his number under his fake alias, Earl wrapped the dollhouse in protective wrapping and helped his new customer by lifting the dollhouse, placing it on a dolly, and wheeling it out to their car. The elephant carefully lowered it into the trunk, face up. The three mammals waved goodbye as Nick turned on the car, and drove away.

Once they were a few blocks away, Nick turned down a low populated area, and parked in a vacant alleyway. He popped the trunk and both foxes jumped out.

"Another successful act, Finn." Nick said with a thrilled exclamation.

Finnick finally removed the trunk mask. "Damn Wilde, where'd you get all that money?"

"ZPD petty cash fund. It's there for undercover jobs… just like this one. Now, let's check our prize, shall we?"

Nick watched Finnick hop onto the bumper and stand inside the trunk looking over the building. He was rather amused that his old buddy seemed to be getting into this investigation a little bit. Finnick then tore off the wrapping and looked over the entire building.

"Heh. I wonder if this one is made from our red wood?" Finnick laughed to himself in amusement. "Wouldn't that be funny."

The comment made Nick's ears momentarily flatten. It was a brief reminder of another past act he actually wasn't very proud of anymore. "Yeah, real funny…" he muttered.

"So, how we gonna know if it's legit?" the fennec asked as he poked various parts of the building.

Snapping himself from his thoughts, Nick reached into the side of the trunk, and held up a small chisel and rock hammer.

"A clerk from the ZPC told me that rodent buildings have a special ID hidden right here," he tapped on the front right corner of the foundation.

"Whatchu waitin' for? Get to it!" Finnick ordered.

"Gee… so helpful, buddy." Nick drawled as he began to tap away at the inside corner.

Several minutes passed, until Nick hit a hard metal clink. He began to clear away around the area to reveal a plaque with a series of numbers etched into it. Finnick leaned in to take a closer look.

"What's it say, Finn?"

"ZPC-LR-M416."

"Bingo. We have a winner!" Nick declared in victory while snapping a photo of the ID. "This is Chez's building!"

"Chez!? Maybe we should ditch it in Icy Lake instead," Finnick suggested with an evil grin.

"Finn…" Nick chastised with a scowl and flattened ears.

"So, now what? You gonna head back there and bust that chump?"

"Not yet. There's another mammal involved. A fox. And I need to catch them in the act. I suspect he might…"

"WHAT!?" came the sudden outburst. "You didn't say we'd be bustin' one of our own."

"He's breaking the law, Finn," Nick pointed to the building. "This was a whole lot of mammals' home."

"Yeah? So what? I ain't got no home. I live in a van. Why should you care about a bunch of rodents? You remember how they used to treat us?" Finnick spat.

"I have to care about every citizen now!" Nick growled. "I seem to recall you laughing it up when Judy threatened to jail both Mira and myself," the red fox said with crossed arms.

"Cuz bunny cop was just hustlin'. Doesn't look like she turned in your tail for that tax crap. Especially with how you living it up now." Finnick pointed an angry finger at Nick. "You look like you gonna bust this guy for real. Maybe you'll bust me for something too?"

"Oh, so it should be selective then, huh? And why would I bust you, Finn? You haven't been doing anything illegal for a long time. I transferred my permits and receipt of declared commerce to you. You don't even have to con the shop anymore and you told me, you sell the popsicle sticks to a recycling center now." The former con sighed before continuing. "Besides, you don't even know this guy, Finn. I have a testimony that he's involved," Nick pointed out.

"From who?" Finnick crossed his arms and scowled.

"A gerbil named Dinks," Nick stated.

"So, you just gonna believe some chump gerbil? Fine. We done, right? I'm outta here. You can go finish playing boy scout on your own," Finnick said as he tore off the suit and threw it haphazardly into the trunk.

Nick silently watched Finnick stomp out of the alley with flat ears. He never looked back. With a heavy sigh, his own ears down, he closed the trunk. Pulling out of the alleyway, Nick headed back south to Precinct One.

With Officer McHorn's help, the two officers brought the rodent building into the precinct to be held as evidence for the time being. Nick returned the rest of the borrowed cash along with the receipt. Grizzoli emailed Nick a detailed report of Yolanda's activities from the previous evening. She left work to go shopping, have dinner with a few mammals, and spent the evening at her place with another zebra. Nothing out of the ordinary.

Now, Nick had to prepare for the next part of his plan. If Earl was going to order another dollhouse from his so called 'artist' then he would need to stake out Little Rodentia and catch them in the act. It became a matter of when. He needed to see the Chief.

Updating his case file, Nick sluggishly pecked away at his keyboard. What was supposed to feel like a moment of triumph, felt hollow. He couldn't blame Finnick for feeling the way he did. Nick picked up his phone. His thumb hovered over Finnick's contact number for several long moments. With a weary sigh, he let the phone flop onto his desk.

Instead, he found himself with his head between his arms, staring at the picture of him and Judy. Her large bright eyes and cheerful smile brought him a fleeting moment of joy. What would she do? His mind lingered on the thought before he narrowed his eyes. No he told himself. It should be about what I should do. What I want to do.

With that moment of clarity, Nick finished his update, copied the pen's recording file into the case folder on his computer, and printed a new set of papers for his file. Logging off his workstation, he took the report and headed to the fourth floor.

"Enter." ordered the gruff voice behind the door.

Nick walked in and took the seat in front of Chief Bogo. He leaned over to slide the case file on his boss's desk. Bogo silently donned his glasses on and began to flip through the pages.

"What's your progress, Wilde?"

"Sir, I found one of the buildings. It was being sold in a toy store as a dollhouse," Nick answered.

"What?" the Chief looked surprised. "You're absolutely certain, Wilde?"

"Yes, Chief. I located its special building ID thanks to the information provided by the commissioner of the Zootopia Planning Commision. It's a one hundred percent match."

"I never would have suspected..." Bogo mused. "Do you have enough evidence for an arrest?"

"Not completely, Sir. I need to catch them in the act and verify all parties involved. I don't think the toy store owner is in on it, Sir. Just a hunch. My suspicions point to the owner's sister, and possibly his son. Along with that fox that Dinks informed us about."

Bogo nodded while Nick continued.

"I managed to buy the building and showed interest in purchasing another. He told me that he would be in contact with the 'artist' who makes them," Nick finished with air quotes. "If he's contacting this fox, I'll need access to their phone records. Then I'll know when they'll be attempting to steal another building."

Chief Bogo considered his officer's request. "Very well, Wilde. Leave this copy of your report with me. I'll get you a subpoena for the ZT&T Corporation and put you in contact with them ASAP. Good work, Officer. Is that everything?"

"It is, Sir." Nick replied with a rather neutral tone.

Bogo eyed his fox officer for a moment. Wilde wasn't being his usual smartass self despite providing progress of a solid investigation.

"Wilde, I need you to assist Wolfard and Delgato with their current assignment since we are a few Officers short this week. Clawhauser will provide you with more information. I'll have him radio you right away when we get the records. Dismissed." the cape buffalo ordered before returning to his own pile of reports.

"Aye, aye, Chief." Nick said with a lazy salute and exited the office.

Chief Bogo observed Nick leave. He punched the intercom down to reception.

"Yes, Chief?"

"Clawhauser, call the Zootopia Municipal Courthouse and get Judge Baram on the line," Bogo requested.

"You got it, Chief!" the cheetah happily replied.

* * *

Earl was upstairs in his kitchen cooking a nice grass, roots, twig, and peanut stew with a side dish of fruits. The door to his home opened. He turned to see his son, Earl Jr. walk in. The younger elephant tossed his backpack next to the doorframe before closing it.

"Hey Pops! That smells great!" he said as he took in the aroma that filled the entire living space.

"It's your favorite stew, EJ!" Earl announced.

"Special occasion?" his son asked.

"Definitely! A customer bought the last dollhouse today. The really nice one made by your friend. He was so impressed that he wanted to buy a second one for his daughter. So, I told him I'd see what I could do about ordering another," the older elephant tooted.

"Wow. That's awesome!"

"Sure is. Think your friend will be able to make another one soon?" Earl smiled at his son.

"Uh… sure. I'll ask him right away. Might take a few days to… make another one. Ya know?" EJ explained.

"No problem," Earl said. He turned to point at a small pile of bucks sitting on the counter. "That's the artist's commission over there."

"Thanks Pops," EJ said as he picked up the cash with his trunk and stuffed it into his jacket. "Can, Phil join us tonight?"

"Of course! You know you don't need to ask. He's always welcome. Your aunt texted me earlier. She'll be home soon. Set the plates for me?"

"Sure thing," the son said as he began to gather all of the appropriate silverware and neatly set the table for four.

When he was finished, EJ walked into his room and took out his phone. He poked his head out to make sure his dad was still occupied and closed the door. He tapped a contact on his phone and held it up to his ear.

"Yo, Phil. Guess what? My pops sold the last building!... I know, right?... He told me that the customer was interested in another one… Yeah… I know, but what do you say? I've never seen him so happy… We gotta get one more… Okay… Sure… Awesome! Oh, and come over for dinner. Pops is making his famous stew… Sweet, see you soon!"

EJ hung up, made a victory bump with his trunk and went back to the living room to mingle with his dad till his aunt and best friend arrived.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author’s Note: Hi everyone! Sorry for another lengthy break in between updates but this case took several large rewrites both on the mechanics of it, pace, motivations, characters, etc. I am pretty happy with how it organically turned out as I wrote it. As you can see it’s a much more grounded and down to earth case compared to PH&CR.
> 
> For those of you who have played the Zootopia Crime Files mobile game, you’ll see I’ve adapted a few characters from there into this story such as Donna, Dinks, Earl, Yolanda, and Hurriet!
> 
> A big special thanks to two good buddies of mine who donated their time: listening to me bounce ideas off them, reading various drafts, nitpicking, and offering input, especially on the investigation bits. Also, thanks to XinyiC from Ao3 for volunteering and taking time to read the first full draft and editing it.
> 
> I’d love to hear feedback on what you guy’s think of Nick’s first solo case debut. Also, some e-cookies for all of you who notice some of the little references and easter eggs planted among the story.
> 
> As a little bit of side humor, and I’m dating myself here, I totally listened to and envisioned this as a solid theme song for Nick doing his police work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4kWpi2HnPU
> 
> Part 3 will not only conclude Nick’s case, we will spend some time in Bunnyburrow with a focus on what the continued absence has in store for Judy.
> 
> Once again, thank you all for reading and commenting! And for those of you in the US, hope you had a great Thanksgiving holiday!


	14. Absence and Resolve - Part 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick perseveres to solve his first major case while Judy makes an unexpected discovery that will change everything. The exciting conclusion of Absence and Resolve.

“Yo, Phil. Guess what?”

“What’s goin on, Big Game?”

“My Pops sold the last building!”

“He did? That’s hella awesome!”

“I know, right? He told me that the customer was interested in another one.”

“Seriously? I mean… sure we can get another one but...”

“Yeah…”

“I dunno, EJ. We might be pushing it...”

“I know, but what do you say? I’ve never seen him so happy… we gotta get one more!”

“Alright. I’ll line up another building and scout a poser for the job. We’ll need to get another set of papers.”

“Okay… sure.”

“I’ll holler when it’s time to get’em.”

“Awesome! Oh, and come over for dinner. Pops is making his famous stew!”

“Really? Love that stuff. Cept for the twigs. Still dunno how you guys eat that stuff. I’ll be over in a few.”

“Sweet. See you soon!”

The audio file of the phone conversation ended after the click.

Nick removed the large headphones covering his ears and with a quick flick across his wireless trackpad, closed the audio file directory on his computer. Clawhauser had called him back into the station once the ZT&T Corporation provided the subpoenaed evidence after Judge Baram issued the court order from Chief Bogo’s personal request. With added pressure from the Mayor’s office, the usual lengthy process was expedited and the phone logs were delivered to the ZPD immediately.

Officer Wilde tilted back into his chair, thoughtfully leaning his chin over his paw on the arm rest. It appeared EJ was involved in the theft and the artist mentioned by Earl appeared to be Phil. Nick assumed he was the same red fox revealed by Dinks’ interrogation and Rebecca’s greeting when she mistook their identities. EJ’s cell phone number matched the Tembory’s residence above the toy store but Phil’s had no address associated with his. Nick assumed he probably used some sort of pre-paid service and chose to remain unlisted.

The audio log matched several of the previous phone conversations where the two suspects colluded to acquire forged documents, cased a building, found a rodent to deliver the papers, and then stole the apartment once it was vacated. 

Looking away from his monitor, the conversations made his weary eyes settle on his own phone. After a few moments of silent consideration, Nick picked up his phone to call Finnick. It rang until the fennec’s voicemail answered. A rare occurrence for the former business partner.

_“It’s your dime, spill it!”_

With a heavy sigh, Nick canceled the call and dropped the phone back onto the desk counter. The fox officer had grimly expected that Finnick might outright block his cell number. He was somewhat relieved that his old friend hadn’t. It still hurt nonetheless.

Not wanting to leave it at that, Nick called one last time. Once the voicemail answered again, he hesitated to speak, then found his voice.

“Listen, Finn… I doubt you’ll forgive me...” Nick paused to glance at his badge. “But this is what I have to do now. I gotta bring these guys in. If I never see you again… take care of yourself, big guy.”

Ending the call, he looked at his home screen for a moment. Nick longingly stared at Judy’s photo. Hitting her speed dial, the thought of hearing his partner’s cheerful voice brought a short-lived smile to his weariness until Judy’s phone went to voicemail as well. Not in the mood to leave another message, Nick reluctantly hung up and placed the phone back down. He’d try to call her again later.

Back to the case, Nick thought about his next move. He knew the crime couldn’t commence without the stamped documents. It was time to change clothes and get extra acquainted with the outside of the City Hall building, but not before updating his case file and going upstairs to inform Chief Bogo of his plan.

An hour later, Nick was sitting in the overly large seat, watching the Chief flip through his updated report. Bogo finished reading the latest transcribed audio log conversations. He removed his glasses and looked down at his fox officer.

“Looks like your suspects are making their preparations, Wilde. What’s your next move?”

“My plan is to stake out City Hall, Sir. The suspects, or possibly Rebecca, will need to make new eviction papers for the building they plan to steal. Once they do, I can tail them to find out which one they’re gonna hit next and be there waiting to catch them in the act.”

Bogo considered this with crossed arms. “Very well, Wilde. Unfortunately, I can’t spare another officer to assist you right now. You have permission to gear yourself with any necessary equipment. Keep me updated if anything changes.”

“Not a problem, Chief. Time I catch these dollhouse deceivers,” Nick quipped as he hopped down from the large seat.

The cape buffalo curiously eyed his fox officer. The Chief noticed that Nick seemed more distant the past few days. Some of his humor had finally returned but it didn’t have its usual snarky bite behind it. Bogo let the subdued demeanor slide as he watched Nick exit the office.

Paying a visit to the equipment armory on his way downstairs, Nick checked out a can of police grade musk mask and scent blocker, a mini video camcorder with a night vision feature, two sets of appropriately sized cuffs, a small single shoulder strapped backpack, a multimammal taser, and a tranquilizer gun.

Entering the locker room, Nick changed into some fairly plain civilian clothes after spraying himself down thoroughly with the musk mask and scent blocker. His outfit was a simple dark t-shirt with jeans and a cap. As usual, he felt naked when not wearing one of his ties as he inspected himself in the full body mirror. 

Out on the street, it was a warm late summer morning with a cool breeze. Fall was only a month away. Nick flicked his aviators on and with paws in pockets, he sauntered in the direction of City Hall.

Once he arrived, the undercover fox assumed his typical position, leaning against the adjacent building, and watched the entrance. Casually checking his phone, it was nearing lunchtime. Nick jabbed a paw into his other pocket, whipping out a fruity granola bar he acquired from the ZPD lobby vending machine, and took a bite. His eyes never left the entrance while chewing the rather bland meal. 

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Judy came to rest underneath the shade of a tall oak tree. Still panting, she wiped the sweat from her drenched brow. The bunny originally planned on a short run after helping Bonnie serve breakfast and brunch to dozens of her younger siblings, however, that intended mile run became a cross country excursion as Judy lapped around numerous green acres of her family’s farmland under the midday sun.

After a brisk walk around the nearby pond to cool down her heart rate, she leaned against the tree and allowed herself to slide down onto the soft grass. Judy paused the playlist on her pink iPaw music player, unclipped a small sports water bottle from the strap on her runner leggings, and chugged the refreshing liquid. Feeling sufficiently hydrated now, Judy checked the time on her phone. She was greeted by a missed call notification from the one mammal who she yearned to talk to most. Of course Nick called when her phone was set to silent mode. There was no voicemail or text either.

Judy groaned in disappointment as her ears drooped. 

As was becoming the norm for the past several days, Judy hadn’t heard from Nick for a while since he needed to go borrow something from his Mom. The phone tag, the often short or interrupted conversations, and the stubborn fox keeping her out of the loop in regards to work just because she was on vacation was becoming increasingly frustrating. All she wanted was a chance to talk with Nick for more than just a few minutes. Like the night of the skunk parade or the reception.

 _The reception._

Judy’s mind replayed his parting phrase once more. “ _I really miss you too, Judy._ ”

Every time she thought of that moment, she would feel a little warmer and brim with happiness. With a big sigh, Judy opened her eyes and glanced up towards the top of the oak’s bristling leaves. She watched a particular large green leaf sway in the wind.

“You’ve sure been on my mind a lot…” she whispered.

“Who’s been on your mind a lot?”

The sudden curious voice startled Judy as she instinctively jumped to her feet, ears up, and assumed a defensive posture due in part to her police training and a rabbit’s natural sense of fight or flight. Judy regained her nerves and looked around. There stood a taller gray doe with a long black sleeve turtleneck shirt, a teal summer skirt, and purple glasses.

“Violet!?”

“Sorry I scared you, Jude.” her older sister chuckled. “Mom said you went for a run. Figured I’d find you out here.” Violet gestured to the single oak.

“Yeah. I was feeling cooked up inside the house. And I can’t be neglecting my exercise just because I’m on vacation,” the younger doe pointed out.

“Gotta stay fit to take down those big bad criminals, hmm?” Violet playfully teased while pretending to put her fists up in the air like a boxer at the glaring eyes of her younger sister. Going back to her original question, the older doe clasped her paws. “So, who were you thinking about under the tree?”

“Uh… well…” Judy paused a moment. There was nothing to hide after all so she resumed direct eye contact and answered. “I was thinking about my partner, Nick. He’s been working his first big case and I haven’t heard from him lately.”

Violet thoughtfully scratched her chin. “Must be the same Nick I heard about at the reception and around the house.”

“Wait, what? The reception?” Judy looked confused.

“Oh… you didn’t know?” Violet regretfully looked away.

“Violet. Know what?” Judy demanded, taking a step closer.

Her sister sighed while pushing up the bridge of her glasses. “Seems Morty wasn’t all too happy about you putting him in his place. Kept going on about it to all the other single bucks,” Violet explained. She put her paws up to make some air quotes. “Don’t bother with that lost cause over there, she’s a pred-lover he told them. Then he mentioned something about a fox.” she finished with a frown. “What a prick.”

Judy simply crossed her arms across her chest with an indifferent muzzle. “You know I don’t care what some jerk thinks.”

“I know, Jude. If I’d known he’d turn out to be such a loser, I wouldn’t have hold him to go say hi to you on the dance floor,” her sister said with a regretful grimace.

“It’s okay, Violet.” Judy smiled and reached a paw out to her sister’s arm. 

Noticing her little sister not deny anything else about the matter, Violet’s own curiosity piqued. “Got a picture of this partner of yours?”

The younger bunny’s smile grew wider and she reached for her phone. Judy unlocked it and held up the home screen for her sister to see. “That’s him.”

Violet leaned in to inspect the wallpaper pic. There was her little sister, all dressed up, in what appeared to be a photo booth looking extremely overjoyed, almost nuzzled right up to a dapper red fox with an equally happy smile of his own, and a glint in his deep green eyes. The only more obvious sign would have been if Judy’s chin was just a tad higher and a smidge to her right...

“Let me show you more!”

The older doe watched as her little sister gleefully flicked through several photos of them together, briefly describing each one. There was a mix of on-duty and off-duty photos, including a comical one of the fox in a meter maid outfit, and Judy having dinner with Nick and an older vixen. Violet listened as Judy explained that it was Nick’s mother. The last few photos showed her posing with Nick, a tiny fox, another red vixen, and a gray timberwolf in front of a van, and the two of them in uniform playing with a bunch of kits in a snowy park.

Analyzing her little sister’s tone and body language, both in and out of the photo gallery, the older doe leaned back with an amused grin. Violet decided to test the waters.

“Well, that’s one handsome fox. If I was still single, I’d hit that!” said Violet in her most sultry tone.

The reaction was almost instant. And just as predictable. 

“What? Violet!” Judy flustered with reddening ears, glaring at her sister, and withdrew the phone, defensively clutching it away. Judy’s overprotective and jealous body language said it all.

“Oh c’mon Jude… you know I was kidding,” Violet giggled and socked her sister’s arm. 

Realizing her strong reaction, Judy blinked and straightened up, feeling a bit embarrassed. Her ears remained lowered. She tried to play if off by pretending it didn’t happen.

Violet decided to try a different approach. “Tell me about him. I remember Mom sharing that you two met on your first day on the force after they came home from the concert. I want to hear all about the real Nick.”

“Well…” Judy began by taking a big breath as she looked down at the last photo, her ears returning upright. “He’s... completely insufferable, cocky, opinionated, cynical, lazy, tells the worst jokes and puns you’ve ever heard, teases me constantly, argues with me, and thinks he’s mammalkind’s gift to women…”

Violet raised her brow. That wasn’t what she expected to hear.

However, Judy paused with lidded eyes and the tone of her voice changed completely as her ears lowered. “Yet… he’s charming, witty, smart, sweet, thoughtful, sentimental, patient, and has a really big heart under that scruffy sly exterior. Even when we couldn’t stand each other at first, Nick never once left me whenever I was in danger, and he trusted me, even when I was being reckless. He stood up to my Chief to defend my job, and even forgave me after I hurt him… I would’ve never solved the missing mammal or nighthowler cases without his help.”

And there it was.

“Wow.” Violet whispered, her chin resting on a paw.

“Yeah.” Judy glowed with a beaming smile. “Since he became my partner, I can’t imagine…” she trailed off in silence as she lost focus. The bunny noticed the starry-eyed face her older sister was making at her. “What is that face for!?”

“Huh? My face?” Violet pointed a finger right at Judy’s muzzle. “You should’ve seen your’s just then!”

The two sisters shared a standoffish gaze while Judy blinked.

Violet softly placed her paws on Judy’s shoulders. “What were you going to say earlier?”

Momentarily blanking out, Judy stammered her words. “Uh… that I… I can’t imagine life without him.”

The older bunny smiled with paws on her hips. “I think I understand everything now.”

“What do you mean?” Judy asked with a nose twitch.

“Oh nothing…” Violet sheepishly grinned. “It explains why I saw you constantly on your phone and not mingling with anyone else at the singles’ table. Now I know who you were talking to. Gideon even made a passing comment about the two of you baking pies together.”

Judy opened her mouth to counter but no words could escape past her lips. She could feel a warmth spread across her cheeks and in her ears as her heart seemed to accelerate at the implication. Judy’s body wasn’t denying her sister’s facts.

Violet rolled her eyes at Judy’s cute naivety. “A _partner_ you can’t imagine life without…” the older doe repeated. “I have one of those too. Cecilia wants to say hi to you when you’re done with your workout!”

With a quick pivot, Violet turned to skip down the small hill, leaving her wide-eyed sister under the shade of the oak.

“See you back at the house, Jude!” Violet winked over her shoulder with a dramatic smirk.

The speechless younger bunny stared at her departing sister as a myriad of new thoughts bounced around in her head. Judy stared at her phone that she was clutching with both paws, at the photo of her and Nick. She didn’t even realize she was holding her breath, till she finally had to exhale as she looked back up.

Her sister was already gone out of sight. Despite the onset of soreness in her legs, Judy hopped forward into a full sprint. “Hey! Violet! Wait up!”

After a brisk shower and a fresh change of clothes back at the burrow, Judy found herself heading up to the main family room where Violet and Cecilia were enjoying some tea and apple scones that Bonnie set out. Maude and Dale were also in the room contending with a dozen younger Hopps siblings that were noisily playing about, many of whom were vying for Cecilia’s attention.

The tall doe was actually an arctic hare whose family moved from Tundratown in Zootopia to live a quieter life in Bunnyburrow years ago. Cecilia and Violet met when the two attended several art and business classes together at Tri-burrow University. While Violet was the doting, overprotective, observant type, Cecilia was a feisty perfectionist, fashionable, boisterous, and always with something to say or an opinion to share.

The four older rabbits caught sight of the latecomer and stood. Cecilia came over to hug Judy.

“There’s my favorite fiery little bunny!” Her hazel eyes scanned Judy from ears to toe. “Look at you, heartbreaker!”

Judy blushed. “Hi, Cece!”

“Sit! Sit! We didn’t get to chat at your brother’s wedding.” She led Judy back over to the wall length couch. The other siblings sat around occupying themselves while some listened in.

“You did a wonderful job with the wedding planning and reception!” Judy smiled while taking some tea.

“Thank you, sweetie. God, I had to spend so much time yelling at the incompetent staff. They brought the wrong altar. The flowers weren’t arranged correctly. The buffet arrived late. Some of the guests got lost. I think I was more bridezilla than the bride!” 

The adult bunnies chuckled as Violet squeezed her partner’s knee.

Cecilia leaned in really close to Judy. “Did you I know I caught a couple of guests going at it like… well, like rabbits in one of the janitor closets? It was your cousin, Dylan and one of Dawn’s bridesmaids. You’d think they’d keep it in their pants till after the party.”

“Oh…” Judy blushed not knowing what else to say.

Violet chuckled while poking her blunt partner. “Dewdrop, not in front of the little ones. They can probably still hear you. Let’s not get the Hopps gossip train going. There’s no brakes once it leaves the station.”

“Especially if I’m the conductor!” Cecilia grinned. She turned back to Judy. “Tell me Judy, are you enjoying your time off here at home?”

“Oh… uh… of course! It’s been real great. Though I do miss the city.”

Cecilia shared a glance with Violet. “I hear that’s not all you miss.”

Judy paused mid sip, eyes widening at the insinuation. Her brain, equally conspiring against her, flashed back to the reception night. 

“ _Night, Nick. I miss you._ ”

The flashback and the earlier conversation with her sister, caused her to hesitate. “Uh…”

“I knew it! C’mon, tell us!” Cecilia insisted.

A loud crashing noise, followed by angry shouting turned everyone’s heads to the main entry. A small brown bunny rushed through the door holding up a reddish doll in his paws, while a smaller creme colored bunny chased after him.

“Give it back!”

“Nyah, nyah, nyah, nyah! It’s mine now!”

“No, it’s not!”

Violet was the first on her feet to respond. “Joffrey! Give that back to your sister!” She swiftly swiped the plushie out of the little boy’s paws.

“Aww. I just wanted to play cops too!” he pouted.

The oldest sister shook her head and looked at the peculiar plushie. It was a red fox. Violet didn’t recall anyone having a fox doll in the house before. Her ears twitched at a barely audible gasp. Glancing over, Judy wore a mortified doe-in-the-headlights expression on her face.

Her suspicions aroused, Violet kneeled down to hand the fox back to the other bunny. “Cotton. Where did you get this plushie?”

“I found it in Judy’s room!” she exclaimed as the little bunny hugged the small fox tightly to her chest.

“Oh really?” the wily doe pretended to muse.

All eyes turned to Judy, who wanted nothing more than to crawl under the coffee table and disappear.

“Uh huh! It was under her pillow.”

“And what were you doing with it?”

“I was pretending to stop bad guys with Nick like Judy does!” Cotton exclaimed, trying to look proud.

Cecilia couldn’t resist learning more as she leaned forward in her seat with both paws on her knees. Violet had shared a few minor details about her earlier conversation with Judy while the bunny was in the shower. “Ohhh… who’s Nick, Cotton?”

“The police fox from TV! He’s Judy’s partner. I talked to him on the phone. He’s really nice!”

“I’ve heard that too,” Violet chimed in with a sly grin sitting back down next to Cecilia.

“You heard what? Tell me, Sweet Pea!” Cecilia squeezed her partner’s shoulder.

“GUYS! I’m right here!”

Not caring about being the center of everyone’s attention this time, Judy stood. The room fell into an awkward silence as several dozen pairs of ears, eyes, and twitchy noses stared at her.

“Okay, look! Yes, I have a fox plushie. I bought it a year ago after making one of the biggest mistakes of my life...” Her ears drooped and her voice became softer. “I lost Nick’s trust… his friendship. I was alone… and it hurt so badly… I just needed something to comfort me.”

Judy took a breath. “I left it here because after Nick forgave me… I didn’t need it anymore.”

Violet opened her mouth to speak but Judy raised a paw to stop her. She looked at Cecilia. There was a moment of silence before Judy spoke again.

“You’re right. I really miss Nick too. From the moment I got on the train...” Judy sighed. “And everyday since…”

No one spoke afterwards. The room was full of twitching noses and an occasional shuffling sound indicated someone was adjusting their uncomfortable seating. Scanning the room, Judy tensed up as she noticed Bonnie standing in the doorway with a fresh tray of food and drinks, a surprised and concerned motherly look plastered all over her face.

 _Oh sweet cheese and crackers!_ How long was she standing there? Knowing her luck, Bonnie probably overheard everything. Judy looked down at the hardwood floor, very much aware of her own admission.

Cotton broke the silence by hopping up to Judy with drooped ears and holding up the plushie. “I’m sorry I took him from your room, Judy.”

It was impossible to stay upset when she looked at her sweet little sister’s misty green eyes. “Oh come here, you.” Judy lovingly squeezed Cotton. “You can keep playing with him if you like.”

“Really!? I’ll bring him back before supper!”

Judy nodded and ruffled the top of Cotton’s head between her ears.

Cecilia held Violet’s paw before speaking. “Judy, I’m really sorry. We didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s okay, Cece.” Judy reassured her with a small smile.

To everyone’s surprise, especially Judy, Bonnie played coy and fondly smiled at her roomful of rambunctious children. “I hope you’re all hungry. I brought some extra carrot cake snacks.”

The younger siblings hopped and cheered, ready to devour the freshly baked treats.

“Let me help you with that, Mom.” Judy offered.

Once the snacks were laid out, Bonnie joined Cecilia and Violet on the couch, while Judy sat on the floor, with Cotton in her lap, who was very much occupied with her new plushie.

The matriarch glanced around the room with a fresh tea in paw. “So, you all were having a lively conversation...”

With a devilish grin, Cecilia spoke up. “Judy was sharing…” This caused Judy to gawk at Cecilia. “...more of her exciting police cases.” the arctic hare finished with a wink.

“Oh, don’t encourage her!” Bonnie smiled while swatting a paw. “She never stops talking about _work_.”

With a small groan, Judy took the initiative to at least steer the conversation away from her apparent deeper feelings. The bunny chose to share a more humorous story of how late one night she heard a lot of strange noises from her neighbor's apartment while watching a scary movie, only for it to turn out that Bucky and Pronk were hosting some type of rowdy Secret Pillow Fight Club. The younger siblings got a kick out of hearing Judy pick up a pillow and wallop those larger mammals to victory after Bucky called her out for not being a capable cop and cute.

After a few hours of renewed and spirited conversation, eventually moving the focus away from herself entirely, Judy excused herself and slowly descended the stairs leading down into the Hopps burrow towards the first set of bedrooms. Soreness had begun to settle in from her little morning excursion. Perhaps she had run just a bit too much. Either way it was always a good sore. 

Making her way down the hall to her room, Judy glanced at the small fox plushie in her paws. Cotton returned the little doll before being corralled with the other children by Bonnie for their routine supper rotation. The plush reminded her of the observations she made between Violet and Cecilia.

The young bunny began drawing uncanny parallels between the happy does in her mind. How much they teased and aggravated one another, yet still being thoughtful to each other’s needs. Their use of nicknames for one another, just like how often she and Nick used nicknames. Well, she preferred using his actual name, he on the other paw was like a nickname slot machine where the handle never stopped being pulled. But, she thought to herself, it meant whenever he did use her name, it was special. It always made her feel special.

Through the door, down the final set of stairs, past the curtain, Judy finally arrived at her desk. She took a seat in the cushioned wooden chair and gently sat the plush on the counter. Judy stared at the little red fox. It felt like he was looking right back at her. Leaning forward with a chin on one paw, she returned the gaze while thinking back to her rather honest reply to Cecilia’s statement.

It was true that she was always thinking about Nick. Every. Single. Day. The frequency had only managed to increase. Judy couldn’t ignore it anymore. The bunny leaned back in her chair.

Determined eyes focused on several large pinned crudely drawn mugshots hanging overheard from a clothesline high above her desk, remnants of Judy’s younger days, pretending to solve imaginary crimes.

“Okay, Judy…” she whispered. “No different than a case…”

Judy prided herself on having an excellent memory. She could remember the name of every single one of her family members, recite the police handbook from cover to cover, and spit out police codes like her old drill sergeant could spit out insults. The bunny decided to start from the beginning. 

Nick’s graduation ceremony popped into her mind. She remembered spending the entire evening feverishly writing and rewriting that speech. Her tiny trash bin ended the night filled to the brim with crumpled pieces of paper. Then there was the look on his face when she surprised him by revealing herself to be the special guest speaker; the overwhelming pride she felt pinning his badge to his chest, how great he looked in uniform. Judy’s eyes settled back on the plushie.

“When Drill Sgt. Friedkin called to tell me you made Valedictorian, I was so proud of you.”

Then they practically spent almost every single day together since officially becoming partners. Even through long grueling shifts, stressful cases, or being off-duty, they always invited each other out somewhere. The fond memory of finally meeting Mrs. Wilde, when Nick showed up at her apartment door, so stylishly dressed and wearing that special violet tie she caught him buying which he said reminded him of his partner’s eyes to that vixen cashier. Judy remembered how speechless she was to see him look so dashing and so sweet for bringing flowers to his Mom. The bunny had to admit she felt a little envious of that gesture.

“You really do look handsome when you dress up; much better than those pawaiian shirts...”

That’s right. She really did consider him to be handsome.

It dawned on Judy that she never thought that was an odd thing for her to feel. It didn’t matter to her that Nick wasn’t a rabbit. Those mesmerizing eyes and his disarming smile could charm anyone. Overtime she found herself always being drawn in by them.

And then Judy remembered when Nick got his new home. She felt so overwhelmed when that sweet fox surprised her by showing his deep trust in her when he simply handed over the spare key so she could come and go freely. Which she often did on their days off and just as often fell asleep there. Nick never complained about it or turned her away. Not once.

“We never did get sick of each other… did we?”

It made her realize that their natural bond was one of the reasons Agent Coltson selected them to masquerade as a married couple. Judy remembered being initially surprised at the assignment but it never bothered her in the least.

Despite the fact that it was all supposed to be an act, everything felt so natural to her. The way they danced in the ballroom, how Nick sold their fake backstory to Felisky, the way they always worked together to tackle any obstacle in their path, and how they would always have each other’s backs.

That happy retrospection turned sour as Judy remembered Nick later protecting her by getting kidnapped in her place. When she saw him unconscious and being hauled away, the thought of actually losing him gripped her heart in utter fear. That same fear turned into primal rage when she caught up to his captors, seeing him captive and beaten. The bunny had resolved to do anything it would take to bring him safely back home to her.

The powerful memory caused her to presently bristle with raw emotion. Without realizing it, Judy ripped the fox plushie from his resting position and clutched it fiercely against her chest, like she would never want to let it go.

Judy looked down at the little fox. His head was laying between her arms near her beating heart. Exactly where she would normally pin her badge. Smiling at the plushie, Judy squeezed it again, dropping her chin over it’s tiny head as she closed her eyes. 

“I was so afraid… because... “ the bunny whispered to the plushie. “I can’t imagine being out there without you.”

With a deep breath, she could still feel that despair. But then Nick made it disappear, like he always managed to do whenever she was feeling down or emotional. His sweet words rang in her ears.

“ _And you’re not a dumb bunny… never lose what makes you so special._ ”

That phrase suddenly took on a whole new meaning in Judy’s mind as it made her heart beat faster again. Nick was always particular with his choice of words. Had there been more to them that she missed? Perhaps she really was a dumb bunny all this time…

Lost in her emotional thought, Judy forced her eyes open when she realized she had been moving her chin against the top of the plushie. 

“Oh no!” the bunny gasped as she held the little fox at arms length. _Did she just?_

Her nose began to twitch. _She did!_ There was no way Judy could let Cotton play with the plushie until she washed it thoroughly. Her deep emotions and body just provided her all the evidence she could possibly need. She stared into the eyes of the plushie. She swore she could hear Nick’s voice.

“ _You know you love me._ ”

“Sweet cheese and crackers…” Judy blinked while beginning to breathe heavier. “I… love Nick. I’m in love with my best friend…”

* * *

The first day observing City Hall proved fruitless. 

Neither suspect had shown up. That day Yolanda and Rebecca arrived and left work at roughly the same time. Nick was back at it again bright and early the next morning. He had seen Rebecca arrive first, followed by Yolanda. The fox officer passed the time with his thoughts as he kept vigilant watch over the City Hall entry. 

Keeping his head low under his cap, he wondered what Judy might be up to. Oddly enough, she hadn’t returned his last call or text. This caused Nick to naturally slump his shoulders. He figured she might still be stuck babysitting an entire warren of her siblings. The thought of her playing more cop games with her family popped into Nick’s mind. Remembering Cotton with the large police hat returned a smile to his snout.

Once noon rolled around, he noticed both Rebecca and Yolanda exiting the building with a herd of well-dressed mammals. Nick kept his eyes on them until they were out sight. His growling stomach signaled it was time for a bite to eat. Just as he reached into his pocket for another unsatisfying granola bar, Nick stiffened as he caught sight of a young elephant and red fox, matching the photograph above Earl’s sales counter, walking together towards the building from his direction.

Making sure to not be noticed, Nick kept his head down low and face hidden as the two mammals strolled by. They were bantering and laughing about some pickup game they participated in, earlier that morning. EJ was wearing a Savanna Central Community College jacket, baggy shorts, and a large backpack while Phil wore his newsboy cap, leather jacket, and jeans. Phil was dribbling a small basketball. He tossed it to EJ with an underarm pass who caught it with his trunk before putting it away in his backpack.

When the younger fox passed by, Nick spied a bright grin, which revealed a chipped tooth. Exactly as Dinks had described him. The fox officer observed them head straight into City Hall. Rebecca and Yolanda were still gone. Nick narrowed his eyes and pushed himself off the wall. Utilizing the crowds to remain stealthy, he entered the building not too far behind in pursuit.

The two young mammals nonchalantly took the elevator up. Nick zipped through the main lobby and bounded up the stairs to the second floor. Beating them to the floor, Nick got on his tiptoes to spy through the tiny window from the fire escape door. A loud ding sounded the arrival of the elevator and the two suspects stepped into the hallway. Passing some office staff, they made their way towards the frosted glass door that read Zootopia Planning Commission. Pausing to read some note on the door, they cautiously glanced behind them before entering the reception.

Now Nick entered the hallway, casually strolling to the doorway. A note on door informed would be visitors that the ZPC staff is out of the office for lunch. Semi-blurry silhouettes indicated that both mammals were well past the entryway. With expert dexterity and technique, he silently opened the door to better observe EJ and Phil.

Both fox and elephant stopped and checked around the reception area to make sure it was empty. Phil took a few sniffs before nodding at EJ. Luckily, the double combination of the musk mask and scent blocker kept Phil from detecting the fellow fox behind them. The younger fox reached into his jacket and pulled out gloves. One for a trunk and a pair for paws. The young elephant made his way around the reception desk and sat in Rebecca’s seat. Nick watched as he tapped away on the large keyboard with his gloved trunk. He strained his ears as best he could to listen in on their conversation.

“Sweet. Password’s still the same,” EJ whispered. “I can’t believe she still uses this.”

“What is it?” Phil asked out of curiosity.

“EarlAndEJ1234,” the elephant answered rolling his eyes. “Lame, huh?”

“Nah. She just cares about you both, doofus.” the fox grimly replied. “My Aunt wouldn’t care if I was dead in a ditch somewhere.”

EJ frowned at his friend’s statement and waved him off with his trunk. “Go get the stamper. I’ll print the docs.”

“Alrighty,” Phil replied and hustled down the hallway towards Yolanda’s office.

Both friends focused on their task at paw. EJ fired up a premade template file, pulled out a piece of paper from his jacket, and began to enter in the fake information. Down the hall, Nick could see that Phil was picking the lock to Yolanda’s office.

Nick double checked his phone to make sure it was on silent. Artfully taking advantage of his soft footpads with a light dash, Nick snuck in, shimmied against the wall, and hid behind a huge potted ficus. Silently, the fox snapped a few pictures of EJ using the computer. 

As the elephant turned to check the nearby printer, Nick seized the opportunity to leap on all fours between the coffee table, several seats, and a few more plants. Once out of sight, he tiptoed down the hallway towards the partially open office door. Nick peeked through the slit to see the younger fox working on the cabinet lock. Just as he guessed, it was no challenge for Phil, who slid the door open and reached up to grab the appropriate sized stamper and ink sponge. The young fox grinned at his handiwork.

Managing to snap a few photos of him in the act, the officer’s eyes widened as Phil spun around to head right back towards the door.

_Oh god!_

Sucking in a gasp, Nick jerked his head back. EJ could be heard leaving the desk and shuffling freshly printed papers from behind. He was trapped in the hallway. With darting eyes, he noticed there was a closet of some type next to him. Nick tested the doorknob. It was locked. 

Thinking on his feet, he yanked his wallet out, grabbed his driver’s license, and wedged it right between the knob and frame. The ex-con forced the bolt back by bending the card, slipping it under the angled end of the bolt, and pushed it back into the door, popping it open. Nick immediately slinked in and shut it quietly. 

Phil exited the office and stopped right in front of the closet door. Looking up from the tiny stamper in his paw, the curious young fox thought he heard something. He cautiously sniffed the air and eyeballed the closet. 

WIth his night vision kicking in, Nick appeared to be in a janitorial storage closet. From the thin strip of light emitting through the bottom of the door, he could see the shadows cast by Phil’s feet. If the other fox opened the door, he would be caught. Nick slowly reached down behind his shirt and wrapped his paw firmly around his concealed tranq gun.

The shifting of his feet caused a nearby mop to dislodge and begin to fall over. With a sucked in breath, Nick caught it with his foot but not without the long handle smacking him right on his tender snout with a muffled thud. He held the mop in place and winced, doing everything he could not to make a peep.

Outside, Phil tilted his head. He reached for the doorknob. His fingers landed on the handle. Inside, Nick saw the knob barely begin to turn. With bated breath, the officer poised himself. Anxiety and adrenaline began to mix, as muscles tensed, ready for whatever would happen next.

The young fox was just about to turn the doorknob when an anxious voice stopped him.

“Phil! What’s taking so long, dude? Hurry up!” EJ whispered rather loudly as he came up the hallway to meet his friend. “I got the docs. Stamp them.”

“Yeah, yeah… sorry,” the fox replied as he let go of the knob and turned to carefully stamp the tiny documents using two fingernails on the even tinier stamp handle. “Okay. Done. Go keep an eye out.” Phil pointed back to the lobby. “I’ll be right back.”

EJ took the papers and continued to watch the empty lobby as Phil meticulously returned the stamper to its original location, just as he found it, and closed the cabinet proper. Relocking Yolanda’s office, the young fox briskly walked back to the reception desk to meet his friend. The elephant deleted the temporary template file and locked his Aunt’s computer.

Leaving everything as it was when they arrived, EJ handed the tiny documents over to Phil. “All set.”

“Awesome.” the fox triumphantly smirked. “Let’s beat it.”

The two mammals looked around once more and headed out.

With a sigh of relief, Nick opened the closet door to just a sliver and peeked out. He saw his suspects leaving. Carefully, putting the mop back, he quietly relocked the closet, and slipped his way back through the empty lobby. The hallway elevator was already moving downstairs. 

Nick bolted back down the stairs. He nearly reached the bottom as he swung himself on the corner railing, only to run snout first into a hippo who was walking up the staircase with a stack of folders. Their collision caused the fox to fall onto his rear, sending papers flying everywhere.

“Sorry, my bad!” Nick apologized as he picked himself off the floor and ran past the angry office worker.

Making it to the stairway exit, he was greeted with a huge herd of wildebeests bleating about and crowding the main lobby next to the elevators. There was no sign of Phil or EJ. Squeezing his way through the crowd, Nick finally managed to make it outside of City Hall and stood at the stairs, sniffing the air for their scent. Luckily, the officer picked up the trail again. Within moments, he found his targets heading south through the bustling herds of mammals. 

Expertly keeping his distance, the older fox tailed the two younger mammals as the three sauntered down the sidewalk. Nick couldn’t help but be amused at how much Phil reminded him of himself. Nearly the same shade of fur and green eyes but slightly taller. Even their gaits were eerily similar. They passed a few local street vendors on the sidewalk. Phil waved at a tall dark rabbit sitting behind a fruit stand. She cheerfully waved back at the friendly mammal. With a quick flick of his other wrist, the young fox managed to dexterously swipe a pawful of blueberries, and pop a few right into his mouth.

This did not go unnoticed by Nick. He narrowed his eyes and inwardly sighed. Another reminder of his own old habits. The ex-con remembered how he swiped a few blueberries right in front of Judy, on the day they first met. She seemed too surprised to even know if she actually witnessed his audacious four finger discount. Walking past the fruit stand, Nick slipped a few bucks on the counter to cover the blueberries and then some. The innocent bunny behind the stand was completely ignorant to what just transpired.

As Nick predicted, they soon arrived at the outskirts of Little Rodentia. 

Phil and EJ circled around through the southern end of the park, strolling down the tiled walkways designated for larger mammals. Nick followed, being sure to keep close to any foliage incase he needed to duck out of sight. Coming to a large park bench, Phil hopped up, and leaned back in a relaxing pose with paws resting in his lap, taking in the sights. EJ plopped next to him, unhooked his backpack, and pulled out a book.

Nick skipped over to a nearby tree within earshot range and hid behind it. Keeping an eye on Phil and EJ, he cocked an eyebrow.

“Great…” he muttered to himself. “Two guys that wanna stop and smell the roses.”

Phil appeared to be enjoying himself as he popped the last of the blueberries into his maw. He glanced over at his elephant buddy. “You didn’t forget the book this time.”

“Yeah, I got it.” the elephant handed the textbook over to his friend. “Still can’t figure out why you like math so much.”

“Cuz I like learning? It’s not hard. You’re just lazy, dude.” Phil ribbed his friend while poking him in the side.

“Whatever, nerd. Well, you wanted me to take this calculus class, so you do the homework.” EJ said as he held up the teacher’s assignment using his trunk, lounging against the bench, putting his hands behind his head.

“Heh. Give it here.” the eager fox looked over the homework and quickly began to solve the math problems while consulting the giant textbook. 

Nick leaned back against the tree. The older fox frowned. Just a regular bunch of kids, not much different from himself at that age. He bit his lip, staring down at his feet for a few long moments before returning a watchful eye on the suspects.

Within minutes Phil completely finished the assignment with full confidence, stuffed the paper inside, and snapped the book shut. “All done. Easy peezy.”

“Seriously?” EJ straightened back up. “Why don’t you try applying again? Can’t you get in on some kind of scholarship or something?”

“Why bother? So I can get rejected again? You know I don’t have the spare cash for the classes.” the young fox sighed in a discouraged tone. “I can learn just fine this way. And we both benefit from it.” Phil smiled at the end.

The young elephant glared at his friend but knew better than to continue this weekly argument.

Phil decided to change the topic and leaned in. “Anyway... you should see the building I picked out to hit. It’s perfect. Has a nice little art deco motif. I think that customer will love it.”

EJ ducked his head down to whisper. “Got the poser fee?”

The younger fox’s reply was simply patting the chest pocket of his leather jacket.

“I’m telling you dude, just take some money to help yourself out!” EJ insisted.

“No. We’ve been over this.” Phil growled.

“Phil…”

“Drop it, EJ.”

With a heavy defeated slump against the bench, EJ gave up and just looked away before closing his eyes with a sigh. Phil leaned on the large book in his lap and studied EJ in silence. He was about to say something when his ears perked at the sounds of hushed giggling.

“You ever seen a fox with a math book?” whispered a shrill female voice with a valley accent.

A preppy male voice answered her. “No. Bet he can’t read. Probably doesn’t know what to do with it.”

Phil turned his attention to see a passing white-tailed deer couple conspicuously looking his way. The skinny doe was dressed in a tight green, yellow, and white cheerleader outfit, with her arms hooked around a tall antlered buck wearing a similar colored senior varsity jacket with a large B on it. He recognized it. The deer were from Buckton Heights High School. Simply shaking his head, Phil opted to ignore them but unfortunately for the snooty couple, EJ heard both of them and was already on his feet, looking very pissed.

“What did you say?” came the angry bellow.

“Uh… nothing, bro… we were just…” stammered the buck, hooves up in surrender as he cowered in the looming shadow of the larger elephant who was now in his face.

“Think my friend can’t read? _Bro?_ ” EJ menacingly leaned in further.

Behind the tree, Nick grit his teeth. If the hostilities escalated, he could be forced to intervene to prevent any fighting that could lead to serious injury and blow his cover.

“EJ! Chill dude!” Phil suddenly pleaded from behind, tugging on the elephant’s shorts in an attempt to calm him. “It’s not worth it.”

“Yeah, buddy… we cool, okay? We’re just leaving…” said the buck as the two terrified deer pranced away.

“Tch. Bucking pricks,” EJ spat.

Both Phil and Nick sighed in relief in unison. 

“You didn’t have to do that, EJ.“ Phil nudged his friend and smiled. “But thanks.”

“Always.” The elephant smiled back and began to pack the completed homework away. “I gotta head to class. Catch ya later, Small Fry?”

“You got it, Big Game.” Phil smirked.

The two friends shared a paw and trunk fist bump. The elephant packed the completed assignment away, slung his backpack back over his shoulder, and waved goodbye. With a lazy wave of his own, Phil returned to mammal watching the passersby. Luckily that little confrontation didn’t draw too much attention. He bided his time as any possibly curious mammals lost interest and moved on.

Phil watched numerous packs of rodents scurry about their business on the smaller pathways ahead of him for nearly forty minutes. The young fox eventually eyeballed one rodent in particular, a lone scruffy vole in cheap dirty baggy clothes, who passed by with his face glued to a hand me down dingy smartphone.

With a smirk, Phil jumped down and shadowed the impecunious looking vole along his own designated pathway. Nick left his hiding spot and kept tabs on both mammals.

When the two paths crossed each other, Nick could see Phil gain the vole’s attention and make small talk. After a brief animated introduction, he could see the young fox nod towards the distance, away from the other strolling mammals. The interested vole followed the fox and they continued their conversation away from prying eyes and ears. With the exception of one pair of eyes that belonged to Officer Nicholas P. Wilde.

Nick spied the exchange and snapped a few photos. He could see Phil waving the money in front of the vole. The vole practically drooled after seeing the nice chunk of tantalizing cash flash before his beady eyes. With what appeared to be an excited agreement and a single paw shake, Phil handed him his upfront pay, the documents, and a construction outfit that the fox pulled from his jacket’s inner pocket.

Once the exchange was complete, Phil pointed off to a meeting place and sauntered away to another bench. The vole pocketed the money, took his newly acquired items, and set off for his task. 

Making use of the lush foliage, Nick navigated away, keeping the vole in his sights. Unfortunately, the vole returned to the small rodent pathway and entered the district. Nick didn’t have time to make his way to a proper designated entrance for larger service mammals. He quickly cut through the shrubs, making sure to stay out of Phil’s line of sight, and climbed a nearby tree to hop into Little Rodentia.

Taking care not to land on anything or especially anyone, Nick softly set down onto the inside sidewalk. A few mice squeaked in terror at the sudden unexpected appearance of the larger predator. The officer flashed his badge to calm their fears.

“Pardon me, folks.” he whispered. “Just coming through. Police business.”

With a few sniffs of his nose, he reacquired the vole’s scent, as he made his way in the proper direction, being careful to not be seen by the new accomplice. Stepping softly, he peeked down an alley to see the vole changing clothes. The vole looked over the documents and mosied on to his destination.

The target stopped at a four story apartment building. It was located right near the fence, far from all the traffic cameras. Their usual M.O. Adjusting his hard hat, the vole stepped inside the building manager’s office.

Nick reached for his phone, taking a picture of the building, and took note of the address. “Alright… #B221 Baker Street.”

His black tipped ears twitched at the indistinctive sounds of a very heated conversation. It was the vole serving the fake papers to the building manager. After a hot debate, Nick saw the vole leaving the property with his copy of the signed documents, and a satisfied grin on his face. The unhappy manager, who appeared to be a tall, gray, lanky mouse, stepped out with crossed arms, and an angry shake of his head.

Keeping low behind his own set of buildings, Nick watched as the vole headed back the way he came from the southwest entrance. There wasn’t any way Nick could hop the fence from the inside of the district. He scampered on his feet and carefully ran towards the nearest usable exit.

Many rodent citizens squealed in fright as the red fox dashed through. 

Nick kept his badge in paw and tried to assuage their fears. “Excuse me, folks. Pardon me. Nothing to see here!”

It took a few minutes to finally reach the south side fence door, open it, and resume a full sprint on the larger outer park pathway. Those extra precious few minutes unfortunately cost the officer his main target. Coming back to the original meeting place, Phil and the vole were nowhere to be seen. Nick carefully scanned the park, still panting from his run, searching in a small radius for his suspect. No luck. The scent trail had gone cold too. Phil was long gone. 

With a deep sigh, Nick scowled at nothing in particular. Either way, he knew where they were going to strike. Now it was only a matter of when. Shoving his paws in his pockets, the officer sauntered East towards Precinct One.

Back at their desk, Nick scribbled some doodles while formulating a plan. His vibrating phone, drew him out of his musings. For the briefest of moments he hoped it would be Judy. Deeply disappointed that it wasn’t her, he still had reason to get excited. Earl Senior was calling him.

The fox officer answered the phone. “Howdy. Michael speaking.”

“Mr. Dooley! Hello! This is Earl Tembory from Earl’s Old Fashioned Toy Emporium.”

“Of course, Earl! What’s the good news?” said Nick leaning against the armrest.

“You’ll be happy to know my son got in touch with the dollhouse artist and he’s expecting to finish another model in the next few days. Are you still interested in purchasing it?”

“Absolutely, Earl! My little girl will be so excited,” the fox grinned.

“Wonderful! I’ll let you know as soon as it’s delivered.”

“Perfect. Can’t wait to see it!”

“Thank you, Mr. Dooley. Have a good afternoon.”

The call ended and Nick eagerly rubbed his paws together. Nick ran over a plan in his mind. It was time to get his gear ready, get some food, head home, and try to get as much sleep in as he could. Tonight, he would begin his stake out until the two mammals show up for their heist so that he could catch them in the act.

Two hours later, Nick sat on his mattress with just some boxers on. He glanced at the small shoulder bag at the foot of his bed while inserting his phone into it's charging dock. The alarm clock lock screen lit up, revealing the photo of him and Judy on it. This brought a smile to his face. 

He wanted to call her again. This case wasn’t giving him much downtime for any sort of quality time for the two of them to spend together. Nick snorted. The hell with it, he thought to himself - he could at least shoot her a text. The fox grabbed the phone, opened up Ewechat, tapped a quick message and hit send, before placing the phone back into its dock.

His eyes drifted over to the shiny object next to the charger, laying on top of his red handkerchief, reflecting the light from the phone. Nick leaned over, his paw hovering over the brass shield for a moment, before curling his fingers around it, and gingerly running his thumb over the golden metal and engraved lettering.

Trust. Integrity. Bravery.

The words made him glance over to the soft red fabric. With a small curl of his lips, Nick placed the badge back on top of his handkerchief, grabbed his sleeping mask, donned it over his eyes, and laid his head on the soft pillow. Pulling up his navy bedsheets with little paw designs up to his neck, Nick tucked himself in.

He took a deep breath, slowly exhaled to clear his mind, and attempted to fall asleep.

* * *

Judy sat staring at her phone.

The bunny spent yesterday morning scrubbing and washing that plushie twice for good measure. Naturally, Cotton eventually came around wanting to play with the doll again. Thank _god_ that she managed to get her scent off of it, and so far no one in the household appeared to be the wiser about it. 

Judy continued to be restless all that day; her heart and mind operated at full throttle on what to do next. She tried to distract herself by doing every chore she could get her paws on much to Bonnie’s delight at first, but then had to stop when her mom kept giving her constant looks of concern at Judy’s sudden interest in washing a _seventh_ load of laundry for her.

Her anxiety was enough to cause her to have a sleepless night. Last night, Nick texted to say hi and that he was thinking of her. And to update her on his schedule since he was going to be up all night for a stakeout and would be sleeping during the day until he caught his suspects.

Which meant he would be sleeping when she was awake and vice versa. Even so, his text triggered an endless cycle of thoughts. What if Nick might feel the same way? What if he _doesn’t!?_ Should she try to call him anyway? What would she even say?

“ _Oh hey, Nick… how’s the case going? Guess what? I just found out I might be in love with you… yeah, very funny, huh?_ ”

The bunny groaned, slamming her face onto her desk. 

She had even contemplated stealing her Dad’s truck in the middle of the night to drive back to the city. If she was going to confront all of this, it should be done face to face. But Nick was still working his case and there was no way she could just bring up something like this directly or otherwise and distract him from his job.

And what would her family think? She originally planned to stay here the full two weeks. But then Judy hadn’t expected how her feelings just bubbled all the way to the top once she left the city either. Eventually, she just mentally wore herself out and finally fell asleep, curled amongst all of her plushies on the bed, a certain fox one clutched tightly against her heart.

It was 7:58PM. Chances are Nick _could_ still be sleeping. There would be no reason for him to go into Little Rodentia until after the mouse curfew. 

Leaving a message shouldn’t hurt right? Sure, she could do that. His phone would probably be on silent mode anyway so she wouldn’t accidentally disrupt his sleep. Judy tapped the normal quick dial and brought the phone to her ear. To her complete surprise, Nick picked up the call within three rings.

“Carrots!” came the rather deep throaty greeting.

Her partner actually answering the call made Judy panic and derailed her thoughts. “Oh hey, Slick... I didn’t wake you… did I?”

“No, no… I got up an hour ago. Couldn’t sleep much is all. Made some coffee and was packing food for later.”

“Oh… for your stakeout? So they didn’t show up last night?” Judy asked, then sighing at herself for talking about police work already.

“The only thing that showed up was a drunken pack of shrews singing Dino’s greatest hits and some rain clouds,” he tried to quip but Judy’s delicate hearing could tell there was hints of stress in her partner’s voice.

“Is something wrong?” Judy dared to prod, bringing the phone closer.

“Hm? I’m alright,” he feigned.

Judy found herself grimacing. There was something wrong. “Nick. Talk to me. Please.”

Nick paused to sigh. “There’s no fooling those ears of yours, is there Officer Fluff?”

“Nope.”

“Three days ago, Finn was helping me with a lead. We had an argument over… doesn’t matter... I’ve tried to call him and he doesn’t answer. Might have been the last time I’ll ever see him.”

The bunny didn’t know what to say as her ears drooped. What happened between them? It had to be serious. She knew all too well, despite the facade and walls Nick always put up, deep down his closest friends and family meant the world to him. Judy pursed her lips in quiet shock. She swallowed before speaking. “Maybe Finnick is feeling the same way and just needs some space?”

Judy could hear Nick’s slow exhale through the speaker. An awkward silence hung in the air.

“Is… there anything I can do?” she spoke sweetly.

“You already have,” he replied. She could feel a small smile in his words which made her ears perk. “Well, time I go finish getting ready and go be one with nature again in some bushes while I wait for these guys to show up.”

“Okay.” the bunny chuckled, happy to hear his mood lighten. “You’ll get them.” Judy paused to take a deep breath. “Nick... I’m always here if you need me.”

“I know, Judy.” Nick replied warmly.

She tensed at the sound of her name. Thank god they weren’t on MuzzleTime. Judy absent-mindedly rubbed the side of her neck.

On that note, the call ended.

That didn’t go as expected. Judy was back to square one. This would have to at least wait for now. She had full confidence in her partner but Nick didn’t need more distractions or surprises weighing on his mind.

Putting the phone down on her desk, Judy shifted her legs and curled them up to her chest. She wrapped her arms around them and stared at the phone. At the picture of both of them together.

* * *

Outfitted in a dark outfit to blend in with the darkness, Nick was ready to crack the case - this time with renewed energy, waiting in his car, another loaner from the ZPD impound. The fox checked his smartphone clock. 9:59PM. It was time for the rodent curfew to begin. Putting the phone on silent, he exited the small black sedan, while putting on a small dark beanie, and slung a small pack over his left shoulder. 

The officer headed into the Little Rodentia park.

Nick camped out inside several large shrubs, keeping his line of sight on apartment building B221. Hours went by as he maintained his vigilant watch. He was constantly tempted to pull out his phone to help pass the time, but fought the urge. Now wasn’t the time to get distracted and he needed to keep a clear head. Nick blinked and focused at the task at paw. The officer double checked the special video camcorder he brought along. It would be able to record the theft even in the low light of the park.

Suddenly his ears and nose twitched. There was a new scent in the area. An unexpected nearby rustling caught his attention. Nick reached for his tranq gun, only to pause when a familiar set of large tan ears pushed through the bark and leaves and revealed an old friend.

“Finn!?”

“Who you expecting? The easter bunny?” came the low gravely response with a toothy grin as he ducked into the shrubbery next to his former partner.

“Aren’t you the comedian all of a sudden… but... how? Why?” Nick whispered.

“Was making a delivery down the street and saw you. Followed you here. Got tired of waiting in my van.”

The fox officer smiled appreciatively. It was hard to hide his happiness.

“Besides, I told you I’d be there to save your tail before you went to cop school. And you leavin’ sappy messages on my phone. That crap was embarrassing to listen to it in front of my lady friend.”

“You have a lady friend? Since when you sly devil?” Nick smirked.

“I always have lady friends. I may be small, but my game isn’t.”

“Too true, buddy, too true...” the red fox chuckled.

“So, what we doin?”

“We?” Nick questioned with a raised brow before stressing his order. “I’m going to get evidence of them committing the crime.” The officer emphasized his plan by wiggling the camcorder in front of the fennec.

Finnick scoffed. “Lemme do it. I can get closer.”

“Uh… no.”

“Don’t make me kick your tail in this bush, Wilde.” he whispered back angrily. “I’ll do it.”

“Answer’s still no!” Nick reached into his bag and pulled out a tiny can of scent blocker. “If you’re gonna stay, at least spray yourself and roll around in the dirt a bit so you don’t blow our cover.”

“Fine. Gimme that crap.” Finnick growled as Nick tossed him the can. He quietly popped the top, and vigorously sprayed himself all over. “Damn, this stuff is sticky, how the fu—”

Finnick never finished his colorful statement when Nick abruptly shoved him to the ground.

“Shhhh!”

The fennec fox glared daggers at the red fox. His angry eyes questioned the sudden shove. Nick’s reply was to bring a single finger to the tip of his snout and then point over towards the fence.

Both pair of nocturnal fox eyes peered through the shrubbery and settled on a lone elephant in dark clothes pushing a very large blue twin-stroller through the park. A faint smell of peanuts passed by them with the nightly breeze. It reminded Nick of the barely discernable scent left at all of the crime scenes and the toy store.

Rubbing his side, Finnick looked back over to Nick. “Could just be some chump out for a stroll?”

The ex-con glanced over to his friend and whispered. “At this hour? Then why is he looking around and fidgeting so nervously?”

They returned their gaze to the suspect.

Satisfied that no one was around, the elephant briskly steered the stroller off the path, between the park lamps, as closely as he could to the rodent fence. They could see him tap on the side of the stroller. A moment later, a smaller mammal in a dark full body suit popped out from inside and surveyed the surroundings while sniffing around. It was a fox. 

Nick began his recording. They were hiding a bit farther than he would have preffered but he didn’t want to take any chances. The night vision feature showed the two silhouettes in a green film. He tried to adjust the zoom to the max to get a clearer visual.

Looking over at Nick fiddling with the lens, Finnick could tell they were too far away. Without a word, he snatched the camcorder and darted out of the bushes.

“What the—” Nick gasped. “No, no, no! Get back here! Finn! You’re worse than Carrots!”

It was no use. The tiny fox was already gone and sneaking his way through several bushes to get closer to the two suspects. Nick found himself alone with an angry scowl. Why did he have such tiny, impatient, and impulsive mammals as best friends?

Phil looked around inside of the fence and gave EJ the thumbs up that the coast was clear. EJ grabbed something from inside the stroller. It appeared to be a dolly. Now the elephant hoisted his friend with his trunk over the fence and lowered him as far as he could.

The young fox landed with a dampened thud. He was wearing extra thick foot pad covers to muffle his footsteps and cover his tracks. Phil double checked the streets and adjacent buildings. No cars. No pedestrians. All lights off. All silent. He peeked into the B221 building to ensure all of the residents were gone. After confirming it was vacant, he turned to signal a ‘let’s go’ motion at EJ with both paws above his head. 

The elephant lowered the dolly over, along with a rope and navy colored sheet, into Phil’s expectant paws. Phil took the sheet and threw it over the apartment building. With stealthy precision, he gently pushed the dolly under the building foundation and lifted it off its lot. Quickly backing up, the young fox wasted no time and wheeled it next to the hanging trunk by the fence. Phil slipped the rope under the foundation and tied it like a lasso for EJ to grab. The two friends carefully hoisted the building up and over the fence. 

EJ cradled the apartment building and gingerly set it down horizontally into the giant stroller while closing the top over it. Next, he grabbed the boosted dolly from Phil and placed it alongside the building. Finally, the elephant reached over to lift the fox over the fence. Phil climbed into the other stroller seat and closed the top, concealing himself and their prize from the outside world.

Everything was completed in record speed with minimal noise and no slip ups.

Finnick caught the entire act on tape. Closing the camcorder, the fennec patiently waited inside the shrub for the two suspects to move away. EJ pushed the stroller back onto the main larger pathway. The elephant headed southwest to the nearby street.

Nick poked his head out of the bush. Instead of running back to him, Finnick was actually following the elephant. The officer ran frustrated paws over his muzzle and pulled his ears down. 

“I feel like I’m being punished!” Nick declared.

Due to his larger size, Nick kept a greater distance as he moved from tree to tree to spy where EJ was going. Out on the sidewalk, he saw the elephant making his way towards an alley across the street, where the barely discernable back of an old elephant-sized station wagon was stashed. Finnick saw the station wagon too and stopped to make eye contact with Nick. He pointed to himself and then to the elephant.

Picking up on his messaging, Nick signaled no by crossing his arms out wide and pointing to his feet for Finnick to come back. Instead, Finnick just scowled and threw up his tiny arms in protest, insisting to point back at the suspects.

With bubbling annoyance, Nick began a flurry of paw signals, making wild erratic gestures utilizing his paws, face, and ears. Finnick’s response was to simply roll his eyes, nod no, and flip him off.

Nick exhaled in defeat. Time was running short. He pointed two fingers towards his own eyes, then pointed those fingers at Finnick, and then towards EJ. The red fox finished the nonverbal communication by pointing to himself, then gestured gripping an imaginary steering wheel, and made a whirl motion with his index finger. Finnick gave him the thumbs up and took off.

Moving in the opposite direction, Nick entered a full sprint once he was confident he was far enough away. He needed to get to his car as quickly as possible. 

Skidding to a halt, he fumbled with the keys, flung the driver side door open, and hopped in. Nick circled around the block, making sure to look like just another late night mammal driving the city streets.

Pulling up onto the sidewalk, Nick parked where he last saw the station wagon. It was already gone. Finnick appeared from in-between two parked vehicles. Nick reached over to swiftly open the door for him and the fennec fox jumped inside.

Nick couldn’t help but snarl at his old business partner. “Way to give me a heart attack back there, Finn!”

“Don’t be a chump. I got it all on tape,” he replied while handing over the camcorder and ignoring Nick’s angst.

“Buckle up. We gotta follow them.” the red fox ordered while disengaging the parking brake.

Just as Nick hit the ignition, Finnick placed a paw on the steering wheel. “I’m driving.”

“What? First the camcorder and now this?” Nick pointed to himself to emphasize. “Need I remind you, _I’m_ the police officer here?”

“Yeah, and you drive like one too. I saw where they went. Gimme the wheel, Wilde.” Finnick ordered. He refused to release his tiny paw.

There was no time to argue. Nick relented and unbuckled himself. “Fine.”

The two foxes swapped seats. Only Nick strapped himself back in. In record time, Finnick adjusted the seating, steering, pedal heights, put the car into drive, and hit the gas pedal towards the direction he saw the station wagon disappear in. At first they couldn’t find the station wagon.

“I thought you said you saw where they went?” Nick worriedly exclaimed.

“Relax.” the little driver growled.

After taking a few side streets, Finnick made an impromptu left and they came to rest under a red light at an intersection. Nick looked over, only to spy the station wagon sitting on their right, signal blinking to indicate a left turn. He diverted his gaze and ducked his face away.

“Finn. 2 o’clock.”

A green arrow lit, signaling the beat up station wagon to turn and pass right by them going the opposite direction. As soon as they were far enough away, Finnick checked traffic and illegally U-turned from the middle lane into the other lanes.

Finnick looked over at Nick. “You gonna give me a ticket?”

Nick crossed his arms. Then smirked. “Maybe I should. It does pay for my salary.”

“Maybe you should get out and chase these chumps on all fours.”

“Hilarious,” Nick drawled while leaning forward in his seat. “Now remember Finn, keep your distance but don’t look like you’re trying to keep your distance.”

The fennec fox rolled his eyes. “Yeah? How should I do that, boy scout?” he sarcastically barked.

“You know… drive casual.” the red fox gestured ahead.

With a resigned sigh, Finnick shook his head in annoyance, and continued driving. He had no bite left in him after his friend’s dumb statement.

As they tailed the station wagon, an unfortunate timing at the next intersection caused Finnick to hit a red light. They braked at the line, watching the red tail lights of their suspects escape.

“I’m gonna run it,” Finnick said as he revved the engine.

“Wait, Finn.” Nick exclaimed and pointed to the right. He knew the area they were in. “I know a shortcut. Turn here.”

Doing as he was told, Finnick made a right. Nick directed him through a gas station parking lot, down a few alleys and through another market center. They came out of the lot, just as Phil and EJ drove by. Waiting the appropriate amount of time, Finnick resumed the chase.

“Not bad...” Finnick complemented nonchalantly. “For a cop.”

Nick simply smiled to himself.

They tailed the two thieves through western Savanna Central. Nick observed how the neighborhoods began to become more and more ghetto. They passed a rundown sign that welcomed their arrival into Happytown. The fox flattened his ears in silence.

Soon the station wagon parked between a few vacant buildings. Finnick was driving with the lights off and pulled up around the corner of the intersection, out of sight. The duo watched the other pair of misfits as they unloaded the building and took it inside to what appeared to be a rundown Home Burrow hardware store.

The former con recognized the area. This poor stretch of Happytown suffered from extended riots and looting many years ago when the surrounding communities fell into heavy poverty. Predators had protested their living conditions and took to the streets to make their voices heard. It didn’t take much to spark violence and destruction. By the time the weeks-long event died down, so did this section of the district with it. 

Burying that piece of Happytown history into the back of his mind, the officer pulled out his handheld police radio and called it in to Precinct One. “Dispatch, this is Officer Wilde. Come in. Over.”

Clawhauser was apparently working the night shift. His jovial voice filled the cabin of the vehicle. “ZPD Dispatch. Reading you loud and clear, Officer Wilde.”

“I have a 10-31. Two suspects, a young male red fox and elephant, dressed in dark clothes, driving a faded beige station wagon with a stolen rodent building in Happytown. License plate CNH 320. Off the corner of…” Nick craned his neck to see the moonlit street signs. “Chenoa and Canid Streets. Suspects last seen entering an abandoned Home Burrow. Requesting back up. Over.”

“Copy, Officer Wilde. No available units in your immediate vicinity. Closest unit is Z-198. Officers Delgato and Wolfard. Fourteen minutes out. Over.”

Nick frowned. “Roger that, Claws. Ten-four, Wilde out.”

“Looks like we on our own,” Finnick scoffed. “We can take ’em. I’ll take the elephant.”

“Correction. I am on my own.” Nick supplied with a rather serious tone while sorting through his bag. “And seriously, Finn? You calling dibs on the elephant?”

“I ain’t afraid of no pachyderm.” the fennec shot back.

“I know you’re not afraid of anything, tough stuff,” Nick began while grabbing a taser, cuffs, and double checking his tranq gun. “But I’m dead serious. You’re not a cop. I can’t have you getting involved anymore. Stay in this car… I have a plan.”

With an air of defiance, Finnick seized his door handle but started when he felt Nick’s much larger paw firmly clutch his shoulder.

“Finnick. Don’t.”

He never used his full name. When Finnick turned to look at his old business partner, he could see the sincere mix of concern and seriousness in his soft glare. His soft yet stern tone didn’t leave it up for debate either.

Without a word, Finnick let go of the door handle, crossed his arms, and avoided his friend’s gaze. His usual scowl reappeared as he flattened those giant ears. Nick gave him a half smile. He hadn’t expected his old pal to actually give in so easily.

“Okay, listen. Take this radio and watch that front entrance. I’ll only be a minute. If anything happens… call it in to Clawhauser,” Nick said while placing his handheld police radio on the dash.

Next, the red fox made note of the time on his phone before opening the glove box to reveal a lunch pail sized cooler full of fruits. He scooped up a generous batch of plums, various berries, and a banana.

“The hell is all that for?” Finnick grumbled when he glanced over.

“What’s it look like? Stakeouts give me the munchies,” Nick smirked.

Without waiting for a retort, Nick exited the car.

Leaning against the corner of the nearby building. Nick checked the eerily vacant street before crossing it. The officer dashed across, awkwardly clutching the fruits against his chest, and peeked around the side. The aging station wagon was parked far inside a dark narrow alleyway between the hardware store and an old shoe store.

There was no sign of his suspects. They were still inside the store. Creeping up to the back of the vehicle, Nick began to hastily stuff his stashed food into the rusty tailpipe until it was all nicely jam packed inside, completely clogging the exhaust. Nothing like wasting some perfectly good food to prevent an escape.

His amusement was cut short when his ears twitched to the sounds of a pair of voices headed in his direction. A phone light could be seen swaying to and fro. The two suspects were just about to emerge from the partially open side door to the left of the car. 

“I can’t believe you forgot your tools in the trunk,” EJ complained as they approached the door.

Darting green eyes checked the alleyway. Too far from either end of the alley, not even a dumpster or trash can to hide behind, no doorway at the adjacent wall of the next building. Nick did the only thing left. He dove underneath the car. 

Behind him came the sound of metal hitting concrete. Looking back, Nick saw that he lost a piece of his equipment. He attempted to quickly crawl over to snatch it but the sound of the door creaking made him reluctantly withdraw his outstretched paw and slink back further under the vehicle.

“Says the big elephant whining about the weight of an itsy bitsy rodent building who needed my help,” Phil ribbed back in a baby voice.

“Shaddup. I should sit back and watch you carry it.”

“I’d just use the dolly, ya know.”

“Okay, smart guy.”

The unlikely pair rounded the corner of the station wagon, only for Phil to pause. His night vision allowed him to notice a shiny object lying right below the bumper. The younger fox bent down to pick it up. Nick’s eyes widened in fear as he watched a paw and muzzle appear in his line of sight. Shifting as quietly as he could, he edged towards the left side of the car behind the giant rear wheel.

Phil picked up a rather large pair of pawcuffs, inspecting them with a curious brow.

EJ cast a light on them so he could see too. “Damn, Small Fry. You into some kinky stuff with them vixens you always hooking up with, eh?” the elephant chuckled as he gave his little buddy a friendly trunk shove.

“Me? These aren’t mine! Look at the size of these things, doofus. I can put my entire head through them.” Phil demonstrated and then dangled the giant pawcuffs. He stopped to eyeball his buddy with an amused grin and poked his leg. “I think someone’s trying to pass off his own little fetish. Don’t worry, Big Game… I won’t judge.”

“Nah, dude…” EJ huffed in embarrassment. “Maybe it’s my Pops? He’s always forgetting all kinds of freaky stuff in the trunk. One time I found a stack of dirty magazines and a… nevermind.”

The two young mammals shared a laugh at the thought of that lewd scenario. Nick let out a puff of relief. He couldn’t believe his dumb luck.

Once Phil stopped laughing, he held the cuffs for EJ to take. “Your old man probably needs the stress relief anyway. But we can’t leave stuff lying around out here, remember? Let’s check to make sure nothing else fell out.”

“Okay.”

And now the dumb luck ran out. At the sound of this, Nick knew he would be discovered. The hardware store side door was wide open right next to him. Just as the other two mammals bent down to inspect around the undercarriage, Nick rolled out from behind the wheel and quietly ducked into the building.

Meanwhile across the street, Finnick was impatiently sitting as he was instructed. He watched his old partner apparently shove all of his food into the tailpipe of the station wagon. This gave him a pretty good laugh at Nick’s slyness. He always knew that fox was something else. However, that laughter soon died as he noticed his friend unexpectedly dive under the car. Moments after, the two suspects came back outside.

Finnick watched as the other fox discovered something on the ground and engaged the elephant in conversation over it. They appeared to be having a laugh of their own at its expense. Nick’s silhouette dashed from behind the wheel and into the building as the suspects began to check underneath their vehicle. The fennec fox’s ears flattened as he observed them grab some tools from the hatch of the wagon and head back inside.

The fennec opened the door, paused, then closed it. He did this two more times in rapid succession. An angry exhale fogged up the side window, followed by a guttural growl escaping from his bared fangs. He glanced to the radio Nick left behind. With a huff, Finnick reluctantly grabbed it, swearing under his breath.

“Hey, coppers! You there?” he yelled into the com.

There was a brief pause as Clawhauser was taken aback by the unrecognizable deep voice.

“ZPD Dispatch. Officer Clawhauser speaking.” came the confused and worried response. “Sir, this is a police radio channel. Can you identify yourself? Are you in need of assistance?”

“Get your tails out here faster! Wilde needs help. Now!” Finnick tossed the radio into the seat and jumped out of the car, not bothering to wait for a reply.

The radio crackled into the empty cabin with a frantic chatter. “Sir? Can you explain the situation? Sir, are you there? Hello!?”

Finnick scampered across the street. The fennec surveyed the alley and found the open door. He took a few sniffs. The scent blocker was doing its job. There was no trace of Nick, only the other fox and the elephant. With his usual scowl, Finnick creeped inside the dimly lit store.

Back inside, Nick was scrambling to find a decent hiding spot. His nose wrinkled as the stale air began to mix with a variety of new smells: dried paints, musty paper, aging wood, old cans, mouldy cardboard, and rusted buckets. The shelves and leftover supplies had seen better days. Yet there was a surprising amount of long forgotten painting supplies in the paint section. 

Guess looters didn’t much care for interior design, Nick thought to himself.

Making his way to the back, the officer ducked and weaved between large empty shelves, musty crates, cardboard boxes, and plastic containers. His splayed ears picked up the sounds of approaching whispers behind him. The officer carefully threaded through the aisles while attempting not to disturb any flimsy objects, or trip over anything on the ground. Soon he found himself in what appeared to be the hardware section. 

The rodent building was left propped up against a wall with all of the valuables from the homes diligently removed in an unkempt pile. Nick could see all kinds of valuables: toys, appliances, clothes, furniture, and family photos. It took considerable effort for Nick not to growl. A few meters away he caught sight of an empty crate resting on its side. Making a hushed dash to the box, he overturned the packaging over his entire body. Huddling inside, he could peek through the paw slit used for gripping the box.

A smartphone light marked the arrival of his suspects as they entered the room with Phil’s tools. The young fox kneeled and spread his makeshift equipment onto the floor next to the building. It was a bunch of aging construction, painting, and finishing tools that he used to spruce up the buildings to look like brand new. Since Phil didn’t need a constant lightsource, EJ took a moment to appreciate the architecture of their latest haul. 

“Dude, this really is a nice one.” EJ exclaimed.

“Right? Told ya I picked a good one. Your old man should be able to get bank for this baby once I fix her up,” Phil said while patting the top of the roof.

Finnick prowled his way through the aisles while approaching the sounds of chatter and clinking of tools. His diminutive size allowed him to easily hide himself in the shadows as the fennec came upon the two mammals. The fox tinkered away at the building while the elephant was watching. There was no sign of Nick. Surveying the room with his own nocturnal eyesight, Finnick’s eyes landed upon a mid-sized crate. He swore he saw it jiggle. Squinting, Finnick stared at the paw hole only to raise his brow when he saw a pair of glowing eyes staring back at him.

Making eye contact, Nick tried to point for Finnick to get out of there but the slit didn’t allow for expressive non verbal communication. Finnick attempted some sign language only to stop when he heard the elephant speak up.

“Need any help?”

“Nah.” Phil replied as he stripped the building number off. The younger fox looked at the pile of personal items next to him. “Actually… wanna dump the unsellable stuff for me?”

“Aight,” EJ said as he bent down to sort the various valuables with his trunk.

The two hidden foxes watched as EJ finished his task and stood with the goods. The elephant sauntered to the back of the room, heading straight to the box Nick was hiding in. Finnick’s eyes widened and he frantically searched around for some type of weapon. The fennec grabbed a small piece of lumber. Nick did what he could to signal for Finnick to stop until EJ was right above him.

The elephant paused to look all around at the floor. He appeared to be in deep thought. EJ began impatiently nudging the floorboards one by one searching for something. With a sigh, he put the valuables down and reached over to pick up the crate.

Finnick was just about ready to pounce, his paw squeezing the piece of wood so hard, it cut into his paw pads. He saw his ex-partner’s signal to stop but there was no way he’d hang back if EJ discovered Nick. Coiling himself to spring forward, Finnick stopped himself mid-launch as the elephant lifted the crate straight up. 

Nothing. Nick was nowhere to be seen.

EJ continued searching the floor while holding the crate up high away from his face. On the inside, a terrified Nick was stretched out with all fours braced against the inner corners, his nails digging into the wood to help support his weight. The officer had his back against the bottom of the box and bushy tail tucked up against his front torso, straining to keep himself suspended within the box.

The elephant looked back towards his partner in crime. “Hey, where’s the spot?”

With an impressed smirk, Finnick had to give props for Nick always being such a quick thinker under pressure. The fennec saw Phil roll his eyes and stop to turn his head to answer EJ. Being partially exposed, Finnick slinked back into the shadows but the piece of lumber in his paw accidentally swung into a partially open plastic container filled with rainwater from the previous evening, spilling its contents around his feet with a loud bang.

Inside the suspended crate, Nick’s eyes widened to saucers as he heard the commotion. The suspects jerked their heads towards the sudden crashing sound.

“The hell was that?” EJ said glancing back.

“Something fell,” Phil replied.

EJ dropped the crate as he joined Phil to investigate the noise. The two mammals looked around the aisle for the source. Phil spotted the tiny container and sucked in a breath.

“EJ!” he whispered.

The elephant looked at his buddy who nodded towards the floor with his snout. EJ shined the light on the spilled liquid to reveal barely discernable tiny pawprints heading back towards the aisles by the entrance.

“Shit.” the elephant snapped. “What do we do? What if they saw…”

“Hey, hey! EJ!” Phil put a paw on his leg. “Keep cool. Go check the car. I’ll look around.”

With an anxious nod, EJ hurriedly left Phil’s side to do as he was told. The young fox followed the trail of wet pawprints as they faded away back into the store. Phil sniffed around, confused why he couldn’t pick up any mammal scents. The tracks disappeared in the paint section. He cautiously toed through the aisle, walking past an old display of stacked paint cans next to rows of half-empty shelves. 

Finnick adjusted his footing and kept his ears low as the larger fox crept by. The tiny fennec managed to hide right behind a few cans of mid-sized paint on the bottom shelf. Though he’d prefer to fight it out instead of hiding, Finnick stowed his temper, hoping Nick was able to get out from under the crate and out of the room. Wondering where the hell the other cops were at, he nearly scoffed at the thought of actually wanting the police to arrive.

Phil stopped to inspect the cans. Finnick held perfectly still as the other fox’s eyes passed over the containers. The red fox thoughtfully scratched his muzzle before moving on. Waiting a few moments once Phil was out of sight, Finnick checked up and down the aisle before emerged from his hiding spot. The fennec turned to make a dash only to greeted by Phil popping out from the corner. Their eyes locked in sudden surprise.

There was no escape. Finnick stood his ground and glared at Phil.

Finding out it was another fox, Phil got over the shock and slightly relaxed but remained apprehensive. “I knew I saw something. What’re you doing here?”

Before Finnick could react another voice interrupted their staring contest.

“There you are! Did you find those colors yet?”

Now both foxes turned to see the arrival of a third fox, who tried to appear friendly and non-threatening. Nick sauntered up near Finnick. When he saw him get discovered; a myriad of scenarios raced through his mind in a split second. It would be in their better interest not to startle the suspects outright and stall for time. Nick had checked his phone and backup should be getting here any minute now. 

At this point, a startled Phil took a cautious step back. “Who…?”

Nick kept his own distance and made eye contact with Phil. “Hey! Nice to see a familiar face around these parts. You here scavenging too? You didn’t happen to see any orchid or lilac paint lying around here, did ya buddy? They’re my favorite colors. I tell ya, I can never find a good shade.”

Phil simply looked dumbfounded at Nick.

Finnick played along and grabbed a random appropriate sized paint can. “Here.”

“Perfect!” Nick exclaimed as he took the can by the handle in his left paw while acting with dramatic flair and turned to Phil. “Just what we were looking for! Our ol’ den is looking a bit dainty lately. This will spruce it right up!”

Just as Nick and Finnick turned to leave, a giant light lit their faces. There stood an agitated elephant blocking their path. EJ blinked as he saw not one fox but three in front of him.

The large mammal scowled at the intruders. “Who the hell are these guys!?”

Doing his best to keep cool, Nick gestured in friendly fashion with his free paw. “Hey big guy… I was just telling your pal over there… me and my roommate here were just looking for some paint.” Nick held up the can for emphasis.

Phil and EJ shared a questioning glance. The younger fox shrugged while the elephant stood his ground. Nick turned to try and slip by EJ with Finnick at his side who grabbed another can.

“It was nice meeting you fellas. We’ll just be on our way now and bid you boys adieu,” Nick saluted with the can in his left arm and tempted a few small steps forward.

The elephant remained lost in thought, watching the two foxes approach to pass by him. Realizing this might not be a good idea after all, EJ tensed up and shifted his leg.

“Hold up.” EJ demanded as he blocked their exit with a pointed trunk.

“Whoa now, big guy! Take it easy.” Nick calmly said with paws up.

“You aren’t going anywhere!” EJ said and took a big dangerous step towards Nick.

The sudden aggression caused Nick to rebalance his footing and prepare to defend himself if necessary. “Look, fellas… we’re not here looking for any trouble.” Nick made eye contact with Phil. “Listen buddy, from one fox to another, we’re just trying to get by. You know how it is?”

Phil considered this for a moment, glancing between Nick and Finnick with a hesitant silence. He looked to his friend. “EJ, they might be alright.”

“Yeah. Don’t be a hog. There’s enough crap here for you chumps to share,” Finnick piped up.

Dammit Finn, Nick thought to himself. Not friendly enough.

The elephant eyed the fennec fox before returning his attention to Nick. “I don’t trust you two. Let’s check ’em.”

EJ was looking more and more nervous and agitated at the unwanted intruders. He took another step closer.

Nick subtly reached back for his concealed tranq gun. As Nick turned more sideways, Phil noticed the odd bulge under the other fox’s shirt, above the back of his pants and noticed his paw moving there. Phil instinctively pounced at Nick in a panic.

“Look out, EJ!”

The younger fox barreled into older fox, as Nick’s police training kicked in. He dropped the paint bucket and sidestepped the rushing youngster, tripping him up using his foot, and using his forearm, slammed Phil through his neck into the nearby shelf with a forceful thud. Phil managed to dig his nails into Nick’s long sleeve and refused to release his grip.

“Let go, kid.” Nick barked. There was no more time for theatrics. “I’m with the ZPD! I order you to…” 

Before Nick could finish that statement, he suddenly found himself being lifted off his feet by the neck as EJ came to Phil’s defense.

“No, YOU let go! Drop the gun before I choke the life out of you,” the elephant bellowed as he tightened his grip with his trunk with Phil still clinging to his arm.

Nick quickly complied, letting his right paw go limp to drop his tranq gun. He quickly tugged against the trunk that formed a natural noose around his neck with his other paw but it was useless. Hearing the gun hit the floor, Phil let go and attempted to make a swipe for it.

Finnick impressively jumped into action, leaping off the bottom set of shelves and smacked Phil upside the head hard with the mini paint can, causing the younger red fox to stumble onto his knees in a daze. With his head down low, the fennec decked him across the face into the nearby shelf, then kicked him for good measure, hoping to take him out of the fight.

Attempting a dive for the tranq gun, Finnick was forced to leap away as EJ stomped the gun into pieces. Finnick looked up to see Nick struggling against the grip that was smashing his windpipe, gasping for air. Nick tried to frantically reach into his left pocket to draw his taser, fighting the instinct to keep his paws around the squeezing trunk.

The tiny fox promptly scampered up the large shelves and hurled himself at Nick’s assailant. A snarl suddenly drew EJ’s attention as a tiny silhouette jumped him from the side, wildly swinging away with a piece of broken lumber. Finnick, despite his size, rigorously pummeled EJ but to no avail.

Finally gripping the taser, Nick pulled it out of his pocket as he gasped for his friend’s attention. 

“Finn… here!”

Seeing the taser, Finnick leaped down, grabbed the defensive device and jammed it right into the elephant’s ankle. While the taser wasn’t set to it’s highest voltage, it was high enough to mildly shock EJ into angrily chucking Nick against the display stack of old paint cans. The officer crashed with a thud as several cans toppled on top of him.

With zero effort, a very annoyed EJ tore the fennec fox away from himself using his trunk, holding him up, and swatted the taser away with his giant arm. 

Finnick swung wildly in the air, attempting to lash out at the large mammal. “You lucky I ain’t bigger!”

Phil propped himself up on one elbow, his paw rubbing the back of his head. “Ugh… what happened?”

Ignoring the hot headed fennec, EJ’s concerned gaze fell upon Phil. “Small Fry…”

“Who you callin’ a small fry?” Finnick snapped.

“Shut up, spunky. I’m talkin’ to my friend,” the elephant shot back. Before he could say more, EJ suddenly froze. His large ears fanned open as he picked up the distinct sounds of an approaching siren.

Phil, still partially in a daze, attempted to stand by using the shelf to prop himself up. As the siren grew closer, EJ recognized it. His eyes widened in fear. Within moments, both foxes’ ears twitched at the all too familiar wailing.

“You busted now, chump.” Finnick taunted with a wry grin.

“He’s right, fellas.” Nick said.

The three mammals turned to see Officer Wilde back on his feet, badge out, giving them a hard stare. “Put my friend down and get your paws up. Now!” growled the officer.

EJ gasped, staring at the badge, thinking back to the tranq gun, taser, and the cuffs found outside. “Oh god. He’s a real cop…”

Nick attempted to talk the elephant down in a softer but firm tone. “EJ. Listen to me. I know about the buildings. It doesn’t have to go down like this. Stand down. Please.”

The sounds of the approaching sirens triggered greater panic in EJ’s response. He hurled Finnick directly at Nick. The officer reacted and grabbed his tiny friend mid-air as they tumbled back onto the floor.

“C’mon Phil!”

“W… wait!” Phil tried to speak up, looking at the other two foxes on the floor.

EJ grabbed his still woozy friend and stampeded to the car. The elephant smashed through the rickety door, unhinging it, and left it hanging from the frame. He gently lowered Phil into the oversized passenger seat and turned the ignition. The starter refused to cooperate. The police sirens continued to grow closer. After a few frantic key turns and a trunk slam, the engine finally roared to life. 

Shifting into reverse, EJ backed up, only to have the station wagon lurch about and sputter. He barely made it onto the street when the car rattled, stalled on him, and refused to go.

“What? No! No! No!” he repeatedly banged on the steering wheel.

Flashing blue and red lights filled the area, as a police cruiser screeched down Canid Street and skidded to a halt right next to the dead station wagon’s rear bumper, effectively blocking its path. A lion and dark gray timberwolf immediately drew tranq guns from behind the cover of their open car doors.

Delgato was on the horn. “ZPD. Paws up where we can see them and exit the vehicle slowly. Do it now!”

A terrified and dejected EJ put his paws up and complied. 

With coordinated movements, the two officers circled the vehicle. Delgato continued to instruct his target. “Okay, buddy. Paws on the hood. Nice and easy.”

Wolfard approached from the opposite direction and spotted the still dazed fox in the large passenger seat. His eyes were closed while a paw clutched the back of his head. “Got the other one here, Sam. Looks to be out of it.”

“Roger, Greg. I’m gonna search this guy.”

Wolfard trained his firearm on EJ while Delgato patted the larger mammal down. The lion officer proceeded to cuff EJ’s paws and restrain his trunk while reading his rights. Tears began to roll down the elephant’s cheeks as he heard the restraints click around his wrists.

The timberwolf nodded at the perps. “Where’s Officer Wilde?”

“Right here. Took you fellas long enough.”

The officers turned to see their fellow co-worker stagger against the doorframe, clutching his side, with some of his fur standing in all different directions. His usual smug grin strained on his muzzle.

“You look like hell, Nick.” Wolfard ribbed with a relieved smile.

“Always the straight shooter, Wolfie.” the fox smirked.

A rustling noise behind Nick startled the other cops as Finnick emerged under his arm to the sudden greeting of drawn weapons.

“Whoa, now!” Nick managed as he partially shielded his small friend.

“Who’s that?” Wolfard asked.

Nick and Finnick shared a glance. “Uh… just a concerned citizen who happened to be in the area and came to my assistance.” Then the red fox smiled. “And a friend.”

“Our bad, Wilde.” Delgato apologized as they lowered their tranq guns.

Finnick simply glared at the two cops before helping Nick walk forward. Wolfard radioed to Clawhauser that the suspects were apprehended and to update the station on their status. 

“Hey, Nick. Got a med bus on the way,” Wolfard said.

“He’s fine. Just gotta walk it off,” Finnick chimed in with a predatory grin.

Wolfard and Delgato shared a puzzled glance. “Hah, alright. Clawhauser said McHorn and Trunkaby will be here in less than two.”

And right on time, the two largest officers arrived on the scene to assist with the arrest, followed by a medical bus to examine any injuries. Nick told McHorn about the rodent building in the hardware section, and the rhino officer went inside the building to retrieve it along with the valuables. Francine escorted EJ to their larger cruiser and put him into the back.

“Hey, is my friend gonna be okay!?” the young elephant yelled.

“He’ll be fine. I promise the medics will take good care of him,” Francine reassured as she closed the cruiser door.

A pair of EMTs checked over Nick and Finnick. The latter didn’t appreciate the poking and prodding but let the staff perform their duties.

Phil, still fighting a pounding headache; opened his eyes only to find out he was surrounded by several police officers. Realizing the gravity of the situation, his blurry eyes fell to the pavement, ears down, and simply surrendered his paws to be arrested. Wolfard helped Phil up, read his rights, and cuffed him.

Managing to find his voice, Phil suddenly outburst, unintentionally barring his teeth. “ Where’s EJ!?”

“Your friend’s in the other squad car over there, kid.” Wolfard answered, tightening his grip on the fox.

Delgato came back around and approached the young fox with another metal object in his paws. Phil’s eyes widened at the sight of it.

Finnick was intently watching the lion, ears flat, his neck fur bristled, and silently bared his fangs. The fennec looked to Nick as he stepped forth to put a paw on Delgato’s arm. The lion paused to look down at his fellow officer.

“Hey Del. Let me take him in.” Nick requested softly.

Delgato held his gaze before glancing over to Wolfard who nodded his approval. “Sure thing, Wilde.”

“Thanks, buddy.”

The younger fox slumped lower, as Delgato passed the object over to Nick, who put his other paw behind Phil’s shoulders. One of the EMTs came over to examine the younger fox’s head injury and cleared him.

Nick checked over the younger fox. “You good?”

“Yeah…”

“C’mon.” Nick gently nudged him forward.

Finnick followed Nick as he escorted Phil over to their loaner car. The officer opened the rear passenger door. He paused to look at the object in his other paw with a hard stare. Phil and Finnick eyed his every movement. Nick simply tossed the offensive muzzle into the backseat. It bounced against the opposite car door with a quiet thud before rolling between the seats.

“Alright, Phil. Get in. Watch your head,” the officer ordered.

Despite his predicament, the younger fox was grateful for not being muzzled and glanced up at the fellow red fox. A glint of appreciation flashed in his green eyes.

Closing the door, Nick turned to see Finnick still watching him. With an approving nod, the fennec reached for the driver’s side door. “Move your tail, Nick.”

With a chuckle, Nick rounded to the other side of the sedan. “You’re the boss.”

Back on the street, Wolfard was sniffing near the hatchback of the station wagon. “Hey Sam? Do you smell something fruity?”

Finnick’s large ears shifted in the direction of the question and he began to laugh hysterically.

“Check the tailpipe, copper!” he yelled while slamming the driver side door shut, pulled off the curb, and gassed it towards Precinct One.

* * *

Phil and EJ found themselves sitting in separate cells after being taken into custody and booked. Being closer to the cell block entry, Phil stirred awake to the sounds of a large metal door opening and a herd of footsteps coming down the hallway. 

The younger fox peered up to see EJ being led back to his cell by an elephant officer. The two friends locked eyes.

“EJ!”

“Phil! Don’t worry Small Fry, my parents are coming.”

Officer Trunkaby gently nudged the elephant prisoner forward. “Please keep moving, Mr. Tembory.”

“Alright, alright…” said the annoyed youngster as he looked to Phil. “I’ll see you soon!”

Another cop was behind Officer Trunkaby. A smaller female pig with a tuft of blonde hair stopped in front of the fox’s cell. The officer opened the cell door, and gestured come hither with her hooves. “Let’s go, Mister St. Rey. Someone would like to speak with you.”

Now Phil found himself sitting alone in Interview Room #2. He twiddled his thumbs till the door opened to reveal a mammal that could pass as his own twin in a fresh blue uniform with a shining badge on his chest.

The uniformed fox took a seat on the opposite end of the table. 

“Guess my folks couldn’t be bothered.” the dejected fox muttered with crossed arms. “To what do I owe the pleasure, Officer?” 

Nick leaned forward on his left forearm and offered a sympathetic smile. “I wanted to see how you were holding up, PR. You can call me, Nick.”

“Heh. PR. Never been called that one before.”

“Didn’t think ‘Small Fry’ was appropriate. You’re actually taller than me,” Nick said.

The nickname immediately reminded Phil of EJ. He lurched forward, making desperate eye contact with Nick.

“Listen, Officer…uh… Nick... this was all my idea. Please… please don’t keep EJ behind bars! I only wanted to help his old man make ends meet. His store hasn’t been doing too well… they were so behind on bills and trying to send my best friend to school… his Pops and Aunt had no idea what we were doing…” Fresh tears forming in his eyes, Phil had to stop to take a breath as his voice cracked. “You gotta believe me… I plead guilty to the whole thing!”

The older fox listened quietly with a sullen expression, his own ears down. “EJ’s family means a lot to you, don’t they?”

“They’re more family to me than my own.” came the almost inaudible reply.

Nick’s stared at the table between them before meeting Phil’s eyes. “Unfortunately… the evidence shows EJ breaking the law too. He’s still an accomplice to the crime.”

Phil sighed heavily.

“But…” the fox officer stood up. “I know someone who might be able to help you both.”

Confused, Phil’s eyes followed Nick as he opened the interview room door and in stepped a sharply dressed red vixen wearing a gray suit, holding a leather briefcase.

“PR. I’d like you to meet my good friend, Miss Valerie Sinopa.” Nick gestured.

Valerie stepped forward with an extended paw and a warm smile. “Mr. Philip St. Rey. Officer Wilde told me all about your case and I’m here to represent you.”

Mouth now agape, the flabbergasted younger fox struggled to weakly shake her paw.

“You know…” Nick smirked as he leaned on one arm against the table. “It’s bad PR to stare at a lady with your mouth open.”

“Nick…” Valerie gave the officer a friendly pat across his shoulder.

“I…” Phil clamped his snout shut and cleared his throat. “I can’t afford a lawyer!”

“You won’t have to, Mr. St. Rey.” Valerie smiled. “I work for a pro bono firm. I will be handling your defense free of charge.”

“Best lawyer money can’t buy!” Nick quipped.

“I need to ask Officer Hopps if you have an off button, Officer Wilde.” the vixen teased.

“I’m sure she’d love to know too,” he winked.

Glancing back and forth between the very friendly bantering pair, Phil cocked an eyebrow. “Are you two… um… together?”

Both older foxes turned to stare at Phil.

Valerie laughed, placing a paw on her chest, before Nick could comment. “Us? Oh no… I’m not Officer Wilde’s type!” 

Phil raised his brow in bewilderment then turned his attention back to Nick.

The vixen grinned devilishly at the blushing fox officer before continuing, “He has a thing for smaller women. Ones with short fluffy fur, long ears, and…”

Nick loudly cleared his throat and glared at Valerie. “So, I’ll just leave you two cool cats be… you know... that whole client/lawyer confidentiality thing.”

The sly lawyer winked back and waved a little goodbye.

Grabbing the door handle, Nick halted at the sound of his name.

“Wait, Officer Wilde!” Phil spoke up. “Thank you for this. I… I’m sorry we attacked you and your friend. We were just scared. I didn’t know what to do and EJ gets really overprotective of me and...”

“Mr. St. Rey.” Nick interrupted with a raised paw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m a bit of a klutz and that floor sure was slippery,” he finished with a wink.

Valerie smiled at Nick’s gesture. So did Phil.

“Promise me one thing, PR?” Nick asked while leaning against the door.

“Yes?”

“Don’t let this set your life back. I know Val will get you and EJ the best sentence she can. I heard you like to learn. My Mom’s a librarian. Tell Val what you like and I’ll be sure to send some books your way.”

The younger fox suddenly appeared more hopeful despite his situation and nodded.

The fox officer saluted and slinked out the door.

Closing the door, Nick found Chief Bogo observing the interview with his hooves behind his back. Before either mammal could speak, they turned their heads to the sounds of a commotion coming up the hallway. 

“Where are they? Where is my son and his friend? I demand to see them!”

“Sir, If you’d please calm down… we can arrange visitation,” Francine said attempting to placate the upset elephant.

“I will not be calm! Where is your Chief!?” Earl trumpeted.

“Earl, please…” Rebecca trailed behind her brother, equally distraught as he was.

Bogo turned to assist Francine. “Sir. I am Chief Bogo.”

“Finally! Look Chief I just want to speak with…”

Earl abruptly stopped mid-speech when he noticed the small familiar red fox standing next to the cape buffalo.

“Mr. Dooley!?”

Nick tentatively looked Earl in the eyes. “Actually Mr. Tembory, my name is Officer Nicholas Wilde. I’m sorry that I...”

“I don’t believe this!” Earl roared. “You… you tricked me!”

Bogo shielded Nick from the angry shouts of the elephant as he stepped towards Nick. Francine also moved closer, preparing to end any potential physical hostility.

“Sir, I know you’re upset but my Officer was performing his duty as assigned by me. Your son and his friend were caught committing a very serious crime.”

Rebecca’s touch made Earl back down but he continued to glare at Nick. Taking a deep breath, Earl gathered his words. “I understand. Please, just let us see them both.”

The Chief gestured to the interview room. “Mr. St. Rey is currently with council. You may speak with him once they’re finished.”

Nick was tapping away on his phone before he put it away and poked Bogo’s arm. “Chief, I notified his council that the Tembory’s are here. One moment, Sir.”

Chief Bogo paused at his officer’s gesture. All eyes watched Officer Wilde knock on the door before opening it. When he did, he gestured for Phil to come outside. The nervous young fox emerged into the hallway.

“Philip! We were so worried!” Earl exclaimed as both elephants bent down to hug the tiny fox.

Speechless, the younger fox’s eyes began to water as he was squashed between the two giant mammals. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Mr. Tembory… Auntie Rebecca…” he sniffled in their embrace. “I just wanted to help… now I’ve made everything worse…”

“Shhh, Phil…” Rebecca cooed and caressed the top of his head. “Everything’s gonna okay, sweetheart.”

“Listen to Rebecca, kiddo.” Earl reassured with a bright smile. “We’ll get through this; like we always have. No matter what it takes. I promise.”

Leaning against the doorframe with paws in his pockets listening to the tearful reunion, Nick stared at the floor with a wistful half smile. Valerie came over and squeezed his shoulder. They shared a glance.

The three mammals separated. Phil returned to Nick’s side, who led him and Valerie back inside the interview room.

Chief Bogo motioned to the two elephants. “Officer Trunkaby will escort you to Interview Room #3 and bring your son to see you.”

“Thank you, Chief Bogo.” Rebecca said.

“This way, please.” Officer Trunkaby pointed and lead the brother and sister down the hall.

Earl Senior’s gaze fell on Officer Wilde one last time as he rejoined them in the hallway. Angry eyes became melancholic as his head drooped and then looked away. The two remaining officers watched the group leave. Chief Bogo broke the silence.

“Being a good cop isn’t easy, Wilde.”

“Sir?”

Bogo gazed at the three elephants, returning his hooves behind his back. “Having to deal with upset relatives.” The Chief then turned towards the one way mirror. “Arresting one of your own. I had to arrest my older brother once.”

“Really, Chief?” Nick looked up in surprise.

The cape buffalo rigidly sighed. “He was pulled over for a DUI. Nearly ran over a family of squirrels. Clawhauser contacted me immediately. I came to take him to the station myself. Begged me to let him off. I wouldn’t allow it, no matter how much he pleaded. He hasn’t spoken to me since.”

Nick stared at the glass too, his ears flattening. “Sorry to hear that, Sir.”

The Chief and rookie officer shared a moment of silence.

“Not a day went by when Hopps didn’t insist on reminding me to assign you to Precinct One while you were at the Academy.” Bogo glanced at Nick. “You certainly made an impression on her in that brief time you two spent together.”

“It was mutual,” Nick whispered fondly. “Judy made me believe in myself again and changed my life around.”

“I still had some reservations. Though when you graduated top of your class, you proved me wrong… again.”

Now the all too familiar classic Nick Wilde smirk returned. “I always knew you were a big softy, Sir. Before you know it, they’ll be making plushies of you.”

“Wilde.” It was Bogo’s turn to resume his usual hardened scowl as he leaned down with a threatening tone. “You breathe a word of this to anyone in this precinct, especially Hopps… you’ll be working under Herbert; scrubbing toilets for a month.”

“Cross my heart, Chief…” Nick smiled while crossing his heart with his right paw and issuing the ranger scout two finger salute with his left.

“Good. Now… I came to tell you that the Mayor and the rodent city council representative are issuing a press release about the case and requested your presence. Which means it’s mandatory. No excuses. You can finish your reports later.”

“Can you make sure they get my good side? Is it my left or my right?” Nick posed for effect. “What do you think, Sir?”

Bogo grumbled in annoyance. “Save it for the reporters, Wilde. Let’s go.”

“Aye, aye, Sir!” Nick grinned smugly as he followed Chief Bogo with both paws behind his back.

As they approached the atrium, several newscasters and camera crews were already gathering. McHorn was bringing both recovered rodent buildings out for the conference. Several mice joined in as well, many of whom began to cheer and squeak when they saw their homes were returned safe and sound. Nick noticed two familiar faces in the mousey crowd, one who was ecstatic to see him, and the other not so much.

Officer Nicholas P. Wilde spent the remainder of the day busy with the press; answering questions and posing for several photos, and working with Officer Trunkaby to recover the other two sold buildings with Earl Senior’s cooperation. Earl Tembory Sr. provided the information of the customers who bought the ‘dollhouses’ and any accessories. It was quite a shock to the buyers when the ZPD showed up at their doors to inform them of the true nature of their purchase.

As part of his plea with EJ, Phil revealed where they had stashed the more personal items that were stripped from each residence under a loose board in the abandoned Home Burrow store. Nick personally went back to the scene of the arrest and gathered all of the precious valuables to return to their respective families. Afterwards, a mountain of paperwork awaited him but Chief Bogo was lenient to give him an extended deadline till the following day.

Needing a break, the off duty cop sat with feet dangling from the back of Finnick’s van. It was parked near the edge of the rundown Docks by Mole Harbor near the defunct Wild Times warehouse. The rear open doors allowed the setting sun’s rays and a comfortable serene breeze to fill the van’s interior. Finnick opened a cooler, grabbed two beers, and tossed a brewski over to Nick.

Both predators popped the caps off using their teeth. The smaller fennec plopped down next to his larger friend. The unlikely duo sat quietly gazing upon the sparkling waters and enjoying their drinks. Nick leaned forward on his forearms and absent mindedly twirled his bottle around.

Finnick nodded sideways towards his ex-partner. “Hey, Nick?”

“Yeah, Finn?” The officer glanced down. 

“Thanks,” Finnick said while staring out at the water. 

“For what?”

“Backin me up.”

“You had my back first, tough stuff.” he smirked.

The old business partners clinked their beers. Nick took a long chug while Finnick watched, taking a short sip.

“You and bunny cop an item yet?”

The unexpected question caused Nick to furiously cough as he spewed beer out of his mouth, the liquid having gone down the wrong pipe.

“You waited for me to drink before asking that!” Nick accused once he got control of his hacking, glaring at the smaller fox.

Finnick doubled over in laughter, spilling some of his beer on the ground. “That’s for making me wear makeup.”

“I deserved that.” Nick chuckled, thumping his chest once more as he expelled a final cough.

“You didn’t answer the question.”

Another pause. Nick’s reply came back softly. “No, Finn. We aren’t.”

“So, what you waiting for?”

“I don’t think…” Nick sighed. “It’s complicated.”

“The hell kind of dumbass answer is that?”

The red fox remained silent again. He just stared at the drink he was nursing in his paw.

“Look, Nick. You wanna be square with me? Then stop being an idiot and be honest with her before some other two-bit chump comes along.”

“I didn’t know you cared?” Nick said as he turned to offer a smug grin.

“I don’t,” Finnick replied pointing his beer towards his friend. “But I know I’ll have to listen to your mopey crying if it happens.”

“You know Finn, I think you actually enjoyed doing some of that police work back there.”

And there was the cop out. The deflection in the form of a change in topic. Finnick just hopelessly shook his head and dropped it altogether. “Don’t make me toss your tail into the river, Wilde.”

Nick smiled as he took another gulp. Finnick did the same and the two foxes returned to watching the calm reflection of the sun on the water’s surface. The two finished another round in relative silence before Finnick needed to take Nick back to Precinct One to continue his paperwork.

* * *

Judy opened her sleepy eyes to the sounds of thumping feet and general horseplay. Apparently, a large group of her siblings were chasing each other in the hallway, running from one room to the next, causing a kerfuffle.

A yawn and stretch later, Judy was sitting upright, leaning against the headboard. Last night felt like a blur. The day after her conversation with Nick, Violet and Cecilia, along with Maude, Jillian, Annabelle, and Dawn wanted to have a Does’ day out. They insisted she come and dragged her out to the main town square in Bunnyburrow. 

She had to admit, she did have a lot of fun and it helped momentarily distract her mind from the recent revelations of the past couple days. However, later in the day, her mood soured. In the commotion, she’d left her phone behind in her room.

The all day event ended up going well into the evening, where the girls went out to sing karaoke and drink. At one point she noticed Violet had disappeared for a very lengthy amount of time before showing up again at the bar. When Judy asked her where she had gone, Violet just told her she had an emergency call from a crazy demanding client and needed to take care of a small design request.

Once the drinking started, Judy tried to use the excuse of being the designated driver but even that failed when she was pressured into having one drink. Apparently that drink was a lot stronger than the bartender advertised. That or she was a super lightweight.

Eventually the sisters all came home late, happy, tipsy, and tired. And crashed. Hard.

Thus she slept in this morning. Judy was rather surprised that no one woke her up.

With a bit of grogginess, she made her way up to the kitchen in her pajamas, actually thinking about coffee. She never drank coffee but it was sounding pretty appealing right now. The bunny smirked at the thought of finally understanding why Nick often guzzled so much brew as if his life depended on it. Just thinking of him suddenly made her feel more alert.

Needing to pass through the large dining area, Judy noticed Violet and Cecilia, fully awake and dressed, at one of the tables, intently reading something on their iPaw tablet. Guess they decided to stay longer before going home. Their faces were very focused on whatever was on the screen. 

The arctic hare was whispering to her partner. “Look at that hunk of pred... I can totally see why she has a thing for him.”

“Dewdrop!” Violet chuckled in agreement and playfully shoved her partner. Cecilia suddenly noticed Judy and elbowed her partner. Violet glared at Cecilia only to have the arctic hare nod towards Judy with a grin.

“Morning sleepyhead!” the older doe announced and waved the tablet in the air. “There’s something you’re gonna want to see, Jude!”

Blinking herself out of her morning stupor, Judy curiously tilted her head. “What is it?”

“Oh… just your partner being in the news again…” Violet sing-songed.

“What!? Gimme that!” Judy shouted, suddenly completely alert and nearly reached Violet in one effortless leap.

The taller doe dangled the tablet out of Judy’s reach, causing the bunny to become annoyed.

“Violet! Stop it!” Judy huffed while trying to furiously steal the device.

Rapidly becoming impatient, Judy bent her powerful legs and jumped. She instantly snatched the tablet out of her sister’s paw and binked away with her prize. Cecilia giggled at Violet for losing it so quickly.

Judy turned around, holding the tablet right up to her muzzle, her eyes quickly scanning the screen. It was the online ZNN front page story for the day. 

She mumbled the headline to herself. “Zootopia’s First Fox Officer Finds Missing Homes.”

Nick solved his big case!

The bunny nearly squealed in delight, bouncing on her toes as her eyes skimmed the article at a blazing speed. She scrolled further with one finger to reveal a giant photo from the accompanying press conference. The Mayor and the rodent council mammal were proudly presenting Officer Wilde, standing next to two rodent buildings with paws behind his back, and a large pack of mice squeaking in joy at his feet. One particular female mouse was on Nick’s shoulder, giving the proud yet bashful fox a great big mousey hug around his scruffy neck.

A paw found its way over Judy’s heart and her smile widened so much it hurt her cheeks. The two older does watched Judy’s every movement with starry eyed amusement. Judy wanted to get a hold of Nick. Right now! She shoved the tablet back into her sister’s paws.

“I’ll be right back!” she yelled while running down the stairs.

The rabbit and hare chuckled.

“Twenty bucks says she’s not coming right back,” Cecilia said with an expectant paw out, cocking an eyebrow.

“Geez, who do you take me for? I know a bad bet when I see one,” Violet shot back and slapped her partner’s paw away.

With renewed energy, Judy was back at her desk and grabbed her phone, only for her excitement to come crashing to a halt when it didn’t turn on. 

“Nooo!” she furiously tapped the power button as if tapping the button harder would magically turn it on. The battery must have drained overnight.

With a huff, she found her charger cable and jammed it into the phone. Judy stood there with arm crossed watching the screen light up to show the charge status. The phone would need a little bit of juice before it could power on. 

Boiling with impatience, her foot began to thump rapidly. “Arg! C’mon!”

It felt like an eternity before the first 1% ticked. Once it did, she swiped the phone and stopped in her tracks. There was a missed text notification from Nick. She brought up Ewechat and read the message. Nick said that Finnick came back around and that they cracked the case together, all was well, and he’d call her later.

Literally, jostling with happiness, Judy couldn’t help herself and punched Nick’s MuzzleTime dial. She just now remembered the time. In her excitement, she forgot he would already be at work.

“Ugh. I didn’t think this through… I’ll just leave a message.”

Before she could cancel the video call, her screen changed and a tired but happy fox in uniform appeared with a large cup of Snarlbucks coffee in his paw. “You’ve reached the hotline of Officer Wilde, how may I assist you?” he announced with a wink.

Judy was too happy and ignored his lame greeting attempt. “Nick! Oh my god! I just saw the news!”

The fox pretended to dramatically gasp. “Really? How did I look? Did the reporters get my good side?” Nick paused to pose his face a few different ways for the phone camera. “I asked the Chief but he was no help at all, I tell ya.”

Rolling her eyes, Judy had to admit she did miss his silliness. “I don’t think you even have a good side, Officer Wilde.”

“Cutting me deep, Officer Fluff.” he proclaimed with foxy kit eyes.

“Seriously though, Nick… I’m so proud of you!” Judy said softly, changing the topic back.

Nick remained momentarily quiet, taking a deep breath as if to contain the emotion of her sincere words. The way those large bright purple eyes beamed at him through the small screen caused him to shift in his seat. He smiled sweetly for her. “Thanks, Carrots.” The fox leaned an elbow on their desk. 

The bunny smiled too, brushing her ears back. “I saw your text before I called. I’m so happy you and Finnick are okay.”

“That makes two of us,” he said, attempting to stifle a yawn.

“You look really tired.” Judy observed. Nick’s eyelids were droopier than usual with some bags under his eyes.

The fox officer took a huge gulp of his coffee before answering. “You could say that. Haven’t gotten much shut eye since the arrest.”

She noticed Nick studying the screen intently before cocking an eyebrow. “Are you still in your PJ’s?”

Caught off guard, Judy looked down then lifted her chin, defiantly making a matter-of-fact face. Not like her partner hadn't seen her dressed like this before. “Yes. I am.”

“So, the infallible Officer Sunshine doesn’t always rise at the crack of dawn?” Nick smirked while leaning his snout on his other paw. “Guess she’s just like the rest of us mere mortals after all. Is vacation making you lazy?” he finished in a mocking baby tone.

“You shush, mister ‘I need ten hours of sleep and three gallons of coffee or death will become me’… bleh!” she sarcastically refuted with a dramatic ‘woe is me’ eyeroll, covering her face using one arm with a theatrical lolly of her tongue while sliding down her chair for the full effect.

Her partner chuckled. “Nailed it. That was an A-list Zoollywood performance right there. If we ever lose our jobs as cops, I’ll be your agent. I bet we could win a Golden Paw award.”

Sitting back up with a laugh, Judy noticed a mountain of paperwork next to Nick’s arm. Her ears drooped. Poor guy. She knew how much he hated that part of the job. An odd shape caught her attention next to the paperwork.

“Nick, what’s that pink thing on our desk?”

“Hm?” The officer turned his head. “Oh, right… you haven’t seen this!” Nick reached over and revealed the bottle of cologne that was still sitting on his desk. “I got this after the parade. I think someone was trying to tell me something.” He wiggled it closer to the phone, making sure Judy could see the crude drawing on the label.

Judy couldn’t help but snicker loudly, placing a paw over her mouth to muffle her uncontrollable reaction. 

“Oh my god! Who got you that?”

“Wasn’t signed. Maybe some secret admirer? It does smell nice,” Nick said taking a few sniffs. “I think you might like it.”

The words secret admirer jumped to the forefront of her brain, causing Judy’s laughter to almost turn into a cough.

“You okay there, Fluff?”

“Yep… sorry…” the bunny managed between breaths before regaining her composure and cleared her throat. She decided to tease him on it. “Well, if you have a secret admirer… then I suspect it’s Clawhauser.”

“Only if I came in dressed like a giant donut. Or Gazelle. Think I could pull off a dress?”

“Nick!” she chuckled.

“You know I love Claws.” he smirked while leaning back in his chair.

Judy bit her lip at those words. She couldn’t help herself and decided to poke at Nick like how Cecilia prodded with her. “Is he the only one you love?”

Her unexpectedly playful question caused Nick to suddenly straighten up in his seat, and his eyes momentarily grew into saucers.

“Well… um…” the fox stammered for a moment before looking around and finding a perfect way to dodge the question. He reached over and presented a large bag of candy. “I love Val and Nose for sending me these candies! They are delicious! Don’t worry, I saved some for you.”

Of course he dodged the question. Nick always dodges questions he doesn’t want to answer or has something to hide. Judy should have known better. Then again she has been a pretty dumb bunny lately. There was a pause while Nick held a goofy ‘I hope that worked’ smile.

Judy crossed her arms. “They must not be blueberry flavored or they’d be gone already.”

Nick suddenly frowned. “Now wait just a minute…”

Before Nick could finish his retort about the implied lack of self control, a loud familiar booming voice interrupted him, almost making him jump from his seat.

“Wilde! The city isn’t paying you to slack off! Get back to your paperwork.”

Judy watched as Nick turned offscreen to give his favorite two fingered lazy salute. “Sir, yes sir! Right away! I’m on it, Sir!”

His acknowledgement made Judy guffaw loudly.

“Is that Hopps on the phone? I explicitly told her no police work!”

“Oh no,” Judy gasped.

“Uh… no, sir!” Nick answered as he slammed the phone against his leg, keeping the screen out of sight. Judy suddenly found her screen filled with a shot of his inner lap. She tried to look anywhere else but her phone screen. “Just fact checking some important information with one of the building residents, Chief.”

There was a brief pause as if Bogo wasn’t buying it. “Very well. I expect that report in my office by noon.”

Nick waited till the coast was clear before raising the phone back up. “Whew.”

“Thank you, Nick.” she smiled.

“Well, as much as I want to know about this no-police-work deal… you heard the boss mammal, Carrots. I gotta finish this up.”

There was a long pause. They both looked at one another with a subtle longing. Clearly neither of them wanted to end the call so soon.

“Okay.”

“Listen…” he began softly, causing her ears to perk. “I’ll call you later tonight.”

Judy couldn’t contain her beaming smile. “Promise?”

“You betcha,” Nick said while wiggling a pinkie promise.

The bunny gave him a small wave. “Bye!”

The fox saluted and the call ended.

Placing the phone down, Judy headed upstairs. Tonight they would talk. Her devious bunny mind began to think of ways she could try to hustle a little bit more information out of him. 

No longer needing coffee, she still needed to grab some breakfast as per the reminder of her growling stomach. Judy smiled and there was an extra pep in her step. She hummed a little tune to herself as she skipped along back into the dining hall. Violet and Cecilia were still there, chatting away when they noticed her return.

“Told ya.” Cecilia elbowed her partner. “See that look? Let’s give it to her now.”

“Calm down, you impatient hare.” Violet whispered.

Violet stepped forward to get Judy’s attention as she was about to enter the kitchen. “Hey, Jude!”

“Yeah?” Judy stopped in her tracks to look at her older sister.

“We have something for you.”

“Oh?” Judy blinked and stood at attention with ears erect.

“I know it’s none of our business but we couldn’t help but notice you haven’t been yourself the past couple of days.” Violet began and reached into a pocket to produce a long orange looking ticket. “Dewdrop and I were thinking that you have somewhere else you want to be…”

Judy’s eyes widened. There in Violet’s paw was a one-way ticket back to the city on the Zootopia Express, scheduled for this afternoon. The stunned bunny didn’t know what to say at first.

“If you’re worried about the family? Don’t.” Violet spoke up. “We already talked to Mom. She said she’ll take care of Dad. She even got your care package all ready to go in the kitchen.”

Cecilia excitedly clapped. “Sweet Pea and I can drive you to the station.”

Astounded eyes gazed at both older rabbits before settling back onto the train ticket in her sister’s paw that awaited Judy's response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! First let me apologize for the huge time gap between updates. Holidays, computer issues, massive writer’s block and rewrites, and literally throwing out over a dozen pages worth of text to improve the story happened. (feelsbadman)
> 
> But that means we get the largest chapter of TTB to date: clocking in over 23k words. And probably the one I’ve been the most nervous about.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy the character moments that presented themselves as I chugged along from the entire full cast. With Phil and EJ’s story, it evolved to show that not everyone does bad things to be bad. What originally started with just a name and a blank slate to be some actual criminal fox to challenge Nick evolved to a more fleshed out character who just wanted to help out his “family” that were always there for him. 
> 
> Then we have Nick coming into his own, and Finnick showing that deep down, he is a true friend who kept his promise from all the way back in chapter 1. (the OG duo, amiright?) And of course Judy, finally having it all put out in front of her by Violet, and putting the pieces together herself and being ready to act on it. Some of these character stories actually have some real life parallels I drew from when approaching/writing them.
> 
> Thank you for reading and let me know what you all think! I always read all the responses and reviews!
> 
> All aboard the hype train! Choo-choo. ;) 
> 
> P.S. Special thanks to five folks who offered their time and feedback to help me through this monster of an important chapter. Two of my IRL buddies; one who always gives the nitpicky feedback I ask for and a fellow co-worker to give me a gal’s opinion; Demo ODST, author of Star Fox: Deception (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10734815/1/Star-Fox-Deception) and Star Fox: The Shadow War (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11448673/1/Star-Fox-The-Shadow-War); Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps, author of Always My Sly Bunny, Always My Dumb Fox (https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11888305/1/Always-my-Sly-Bunny-Always-my-Dumb-Fox); and Anistuffs, who is working on Zoocific Rim - WIP (http://archiveofourown.org/works/9437381/chapters/21353990) and has a Let’s Play youtube and twitch channel. Thanks again to these guys for their tremendous help!
> 
> I am also previewing the sketch of the cover art I am making for this story.
> 
> AO3 users can click on:  
> http://animemagix.deviantart.com/art/Zootopia-Thicker-Than-Blood-Fanfic-Cover-Preview-659129489
> 
> I randomly stumbled across this one song some odd weeks ago on youtube that was written and composed by a zootopia fan called “Aviators - Impossible”. Then another fan recorded a female cover for it, then… yet another fan put the time to make a mashup of the two versions into a duet that I feel really fits Nick and Judy and I consider it the official/unofficial theme song for this story. Search “Impossible - Aviators & Pinkie Rose MashUp” and give it a listen. Or click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIXf9MMUB5k
> 
> Enough of my rambling. Chapter 15 will be very character driven but if it goes according to my story outline… well, I’m not gonna spoil anything! Cya next time readers and I hope you all had a great Christmas/Winter Holiday and a belated Happy New Year!


	15. Reach

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter title says it all. No summary spoilers. Please enjoy. :)

Nick rode the elevator to his apartment’s floor, leaning heavily against the paw rail. Despite having a shorter shift today, he felt exhausted. He managed to finish his paperwork on time, turned it into Chief Bogo, and helped Grizzoli finish his case as well. The fox officer wanted to return the favor by lending a helping paw to the white timberwolf for his assistance in tracking Yolanda during his own case.

Entering his apartment, he dropped off the pink cologne bottle and the bag of candy atop his coffee table and side hopped onto his large cushy couch. Nick allowed himself a nice stretch before putting his paws behind his head. Before his shift was over, his Mom called after having seen the same news article as Judy; sounding just as proud as his partner and demanding that he come visit later that night so she could cook him one of his old favorite meals to celebrate. 

It made Nick smile that he had two such wonderful ladies in his life now. He owed it all to Judy that he was able to reconnect with his mother. The thought reminded him that he and Judy could finally enjoy a long overdue uninterrupted chat tonight as Nick wanted to know what his partner had been up to during the rest of her vacation.

After allowing himself a few minutes of rest, and with a happy goofy grin on his face, Nick pushed himself off the couch and headed to his bathroom to retrieve his Mom’s makeup kit. Tonight would be the perfect time to return it. Nick stopped in front of his mirror as he was reaching for a change of clothes. With a quick consideration, he smiled at himself with a wink and a playful finger gun gesture; deciding to stay in uniform. As the fox officer headed out, he shot his Mom a text that he was on his way over.

A short subway ride and a brisk trek on foot found Officer Wilde standing in front of his childhood home once more. He tapped the doorbell, announcing his arrival. Soft footsteps came rushing to the front door where his mother greeted him with wide open arms.

“Nicholas!” she exclaimed with proud glistening eyes and hugged her son tightly. “The whole neighborhood is talking about your big case! Naturally, I had to brag about my son. I may have talked your Auntie Theresa’s ears off.”

“Hey, Mom…” Nick chuckled, attempting to hold back a few tears of his own. Their neighbor Theresa was like family. Nick remembered when the older dhole helped babysit him after his Dad was gone.

“Come, come. I’m still preparing the food,” Mrs. Wilde said, welcoming her son inside. She looked him up and down with a curious expression. “You didn’t change out of your uniform?”

“Didn’t feel like getting out of it,” he smirked and handed over the makeup kit. “Thanks for letting me borrow this.”

“You’re not gonna tell me what you used this for, are you?”

“Sorry, Mom. Police business,” her son winked. 

Mrs. Wilde rolled her eyes and shooed him away into the living room. “Go sit. I’ll get us some tea.”

Nick accepted the invitation and took a seat, pulling out his phone to pass the time. Mrs. Wilde returned and paused as she walked by behind him to peek at the photo on his phone. She hadn’t seen that particular picture before. It was a heartwarming photo of her son with Judy, practically cuddled up in a phone booth. Mrs. Wilde noticed her son’s slight tail wag, making her smile as she rounded the sofa and set down the drinks.

“Dinner will be another five minutes, sweetheart,” she informed.

“That’s no problem.” Nick cheerfully smiled as he put the phone on the table.

“Tell me, Nicholas. How was that case? I can’t believe someone actually stole those poor rodents’ homes.”

Nick’s ears fell flat. He leaned forward, his arms over his knees and sighed before speaking. “Wasn’t easy. Just a couple of kids. One of them was a fox. You probably would’ve thought it was me if you had seen him on the street.”

His Mom thoughtfully tilted her head, waiting for her son to continue.

“He and his best friend would get the residents to vacate and then steal the buildings in the middle of the night. They remodeled them as dollhouses to be sold in his friend’s father’s toy store to earn extra cash to help them pay the bills…”

“My goodness!” his Mom said, pursing her lips in a sympathetic line.

“Yeah…” Nick quietly replied.

“I know that must have been tough, sweetheart,” she looked him in the eyes. “But you did the right thing. I’m proud of you. And I’m sure Judy is too.”

The sound of his partner’s name and the praise caused a nearly indiscernible curl of his lips. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Excuse me a moment, while I go check on the food,” Mrs. Wilde said as she left for the kitchen while patting her son’s shoulder. She noticed his subtle sly smile at the mention of Judy’s name.

Nick was alone with this thoughts again. Once again, he reached for his phone and absent-mindedly looked through a few random photos in his gallery. He was so caught up in his reverie that he didn’t notice his Mom return with steaming hot plates in paw. She, however, noticed him occupying himself again by looking photos of himself and Judy.

“Here we are!” she announced, setting the plates and utensils down on the coffee table.

“Wow, Mom. You outdid yourself,” Nick complimented as he eyed the home cooked meal in front of him. 

Mrs. Wilde cooked an old family favorite - a thick veggie loaf filled with roasted bell peppers, sautéed creminis, asparagus, onions, and toasted walnuts, layered with tomato sauce, cheese, and sprinkled with basil. They often enjoyed this dish on Sundays together when Nick’s father John was still with them. 

Both foxes dug into the hearty meal. Nick couldn’t help himself as he stuffed his maw with a huge mouthful. “Mmmph! Perfect.”

A small tail wag of her own, Mrs. Wilde grinned and decided to make more conversation after swallowing her bite. “How’s Judy doing? Have you talked to her lately?”

The elder vixen watched as her son started at the direct question.

It took a moment for Nick to finish chewing and swallow. “Oh… uh, she’s fine. Talked to her this morning. Seems to be enjoying time with her family. I even talked to one of her little sisters. Might be another cop in the making with that one.”

His mom smiled at the thought. “Well, this city certainly could use more mammals like her.”

“Sure could,” Nick said tenderly after enjoying a sip of tea to wash the food down.

“Hmm. I noticed you have a new picture on your phone. May I see it?”

Nick hesitated for a moment before unlocking the phone and handed it over.

Mrs. Wilde took the chance to more intimately study the wallpaper picture. She could only recall a few instances in the past where her son looked as happy as he did right there being so close to Judy, who also appeared to be equally joyous if not more so. There was certainly no doubt in her mind anymore why she may never see any grandkits now; at least in the biological sense.

“This is a beautiful photo, Nicholas.” Mrs. Wilde smiled sweetly, sliding the phone back over the table. She observed her son look at the picture again for a split second; a distinct gleam in his eyes. Her ear twitched at the barely audible sigh before he put the phone back into his pocket.

“You miss her, don’t you sweetheart?” she asked while taking another sip of tea.

Nick had leaned on an elbow against the sofa’s armrest, staring at the plate of food in front of him. The question caught him a little off guard but he didn’t feel any harm in telling the truth. 

“You could say that,” came the reserved response.

Setting her tea down, Mrs. Wilde considered her next thought for a few moments. She looked at her son directly before speaking in a very much firm but motherly tone.

“Nicholas, do you love her?”

The sudden, blunt, and unexpected question caused Nick to sputter in place as his eyes popped. “What kind of question is that, Mom!?”

“The kind you answered with another question. And don’t answer your own... I’m not some reporter,” she stated.

Nick attempted to look anywhere else but at his Mom while scratching the back of his scruffy neck. “I… um…”

Mrs. Wilde continued with her tough love approach. “Nicholas, please… I’m not senile yet.”

There was a heavy silence in the room for a solid Gnu York minute before Nick finally relented with a heavy sigh. “Yes… I do…”

“Does Judy know that?” she asked more gently.

“No… no, she does not,” Nick whispered.

The vixen scooted closer. “May I ask why?”

The fox crossed his arms. “I… I’ve just been too afraid to tell her.”

“I’ve never known you to be shy around the girls, Nicholas, even when you were a kit. I still remember that time you scribbled all over little Margaret’s notebook in grade school like it was yesterday,” his mother stated while gesturing out with her paw.

“Hah. Well, after the last time I thought I was in love…” Nick trailed off, a fierce scowl appearing on his face.

“Thought?” Mrs. Wilde asked, visibly surprised.

“I know you wouldn’t know anything about this Mom, but two years ago…” Nick began. A faint sense of hurt appeared in his voice. “I was dating this arctic vixen named Mira. Things got pretty serious. At least for me. I actually proposed to her... “

Mrs. Wilde stopped in her tracks, mouth agape and eyes bulging at this new piece of information. 

“Wanna know what her answer was?” Nick viciously sneered. His walls momentarily down. “She laughed at me. She actually laughed to my face! Like I just said the most ridiculous thing she’d ever heard! So, not only did she reject me... turned out she was seeing several other todds on the side, while I thought we were exclusive.”

“Oh my god, sweetheart,” she whispered; standing up with both paws clutched over her aching heart. “I’m so sorry…” Mrs. Wilde gently reached out to place a comforting paw on her son’s shoulder.

“I kinda gave up on the whole dating scene after that,” Nick said, looking away again.

The elder vixen held steady. “Nicholas. That was a long time ago. You can’t let that hold you down.”

“I know, Mom.” Nick said with downcast eyes. “It’s just that…”

“Judy _isn’t_ Mira. I don’t think for even a second that she would ever hurt you like that.”

“Of course, she isn’t,” he huffed. “And I _know_ that!”

“Then what’s the problem?” Mrs. Wilde prodded.

“Look… I just… can’t…” Nick replied, finding himself more irritated than he wanted to be. _Why is she being so persistent all of a sudden?_

“Why can’t you?”

A silence hung in the room as Nick didn’t answer, his ears remaining irritatingly flat.

“Why are you so afraid?” his mother sternly asked.

“Why?” Nick was suddenly on his feet as well, gesturing in heated emotion to the ceiling. “What if it changes everything between us? What if I lose my partner and best friend? The only real friend I’ve ever let get this close… I don’t know if I could handle it if I told her and she didn’t feel the same!”

Now it was Mrs. Wilde’s turn to cross her arms and make direct eye contact. “So, you’ll just choose to keep the walls up? Forever?”

Nick recrossed his arms. “If that’s what it takes. Maybe after some time, I’ll just stop feeling this way. Maybe she’ll meet a nice bunny and this whole thing will take care of itself…”

“Nicholas…” Mrs. Wilde sighed in deep disappointment.

Silence again. Her son looked defeated; no longer wanting to continue this conversation.

Not wanting to leave it at that, his mom came closer. “Look. I won’t tell you what you should or shouldn’t do. That decision needs to be your own.”

Refusing to return her gaze, Nick remained steadfast in his continued silence.

Mrs. Wilde gently placed a paw on her son’s snout to slowly turn his face forward so she could look him in the eyes. “Sweetheart. I know life hasn’t always been kind to you. But when it’s finally reaching out... it would be a sin to not reach back.”

She could see the glisten in Nick’s eyes as her words penetrated his thoughts. His breathing became a little heavier, and she could practically feel his heart thumping a little harder as he quietly scanned her eyes.

Nick struggled to find the words. Any words. 

With a gentle smile, Mrs. Wilde spoke sweetly. “I won’t say anything else on the matter, Nicholas.” She gingerly patted his snout. “Come finish your dinner.”

Taking her usual spot on the loveseat, Mrs. Wilde picked up her plate and looked to her son to sit. After a moment, Nick finally managed to inhale some air and took a deep breath. He took a seat opposite his Mom and quietly jabbed at his food. They ate in relative silence for a few moments. 

Swallowing a bite, Nick looked just about to say something finally, only to pause at the sudden vibration and ringing of his phone. Both foxes suddenly peered down at the noisy pocket, then at each other. His mother recognized the familiar oldie tune.

Between the jingle of ‘Ain't She Sweet’ and the look on her son’s face, Mrs. Wilde formed a rather smug grin. She gestured to the phone. “What’re you waiting for?”

Snapping himself back into focus, Nick fumbled to retrieve the phone out of his pocket; swiftly standing up and practically hopping on one leg. His mother couldn’t help but snicker at the sight of him.

The fox managed to whip the phone out and answered, turning around to face the other direction. He pretended to go right back into Slick Nick mode. “Hey, Carrots. Just couldn’t wait till tonight? Well, I can’t blame you…”

With an exhale through her nose, Mrs. Wilde rolled her eyes before facepalming herself. She picked up the plates and left for the kitchen to give her son some privacy.

“Oh… hey, Nick…”

_Huh? That’s odd._

He had fully expected Judy to make a snip about his cheesy greeting but she sounded nervous; like she hadn’t expected him to even answer the phone. Maybe it was just his imagination. Nick decided to ignore it for now.

“So, what are you up to, Officer Fluff? Playing more CSI: Bunnyburrow with Cotton?”

This earned a chuckle at least. “No… not exactly…”

Her reply made Nick cock an eyebrow. “Is everything okay?”

“Sure is. I just wanted to tell you… that I’m coming home early.”

“Really? Are you okay? Did something happen?” Nick asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

“Everything’s fine, Nick.” He could hear her smile. “I missed… being home…”

Nick couldn’t contain his big grin. “When are you coming back?” 

There was a slight hesitation. Before Judy could answer a loud fuzzy voice was heard in the background.

“Attention. Zootopia Express arriving in Savanna Central in thirty minutes.”

The fox’s ears perked in unison with his eyes. “Did I just hear a train conductor?”

“Yup… surprise!” Judy exclaimed. She paused a moment before adding, “I can’t wait to see you, Nick.”

“And he can’t wait to see you either!”

Nick jumped in the air, unaware of his Mom’s presence as she overheard some of their conversation. He glared at her while she snickered, placing a paw over the receiver. “ _Mom!_ ”

A gasp followed by a high pitched gasp was heard through the speaker. “Wait. You’re at your Mom’s!?”

“Uh… sure am… I was just...”

“He was just leaving,” Mrs. Wilde answered over the shoulder for him. “Hello Judy!”

“Oh… Hi Mrs. Wilde!” Judy managed to say with a happier tone. “Sorry… I didn’t mean to interrupt anything…”

“You didn’t, dear.” Mrs. Wilde reassured the bunny. 

Looking to meet his mother’s eyes, Mrs. Wilde knew what her son’s face was asking. The elderly vixen smiled and made shooing gestures with both her arms. _Go you dummy. Go to Judy._

“Right. I was just leaving… I’ll meet you at the station, Fluff.”

“Are… you sure? I can just…”

“I’ll be there,” he insisted firmly.

“Okay, Nick. I’ll see you then.”

“You bet,” Nick said and hung up.

Pivoting on his heel, Nick met his Mom’s gaze again. “Mom… about dinner…”

“Hush, Nicholas. Don’t you even worry about that.” Mrs. Wilde stepped forward with healthy portions of the dinner all stuffed away into a bag full of Tapirware with open arms.

“You’re the best,” Nick whispered as he hugged his mom. 

With a quick peck on the cheek from his mom, Nick grabbed the food, ran through the living room, bolted out the front door, swung over the railing on the small set of steps, and sprinted down the sidewalk. Mrs. Wilde came out to the door and leaned against the frame with a bright smile on her snout watching her son’s silhouette disappear.

“I haven’t seen you run like that since the day you went to your scout initiation all those years ago…” the elderly vixen whispered to herself before closing the door.

* * *

Judy watched as her phone returned to its home screen.

The bunny had been battling with herself on whether to call Nick or simply surprise him at his doorstep. Anxiousness and perhaps not wanting to freak him out too much decided on a simple phone call as her best course of action.

She couldn’t believe it. _He left his Mom’s to come meet me at the station!_

Watching the raindrops begin to splatter on the skylight glass, Judy leaned against the paw railing in the observation deck as the train exited Tundratown and thundered into the Rainforest District, turning on the single track over the cascading waterfalls and tall trees. There was a mix of emotions bristling inside the bunny. Judy felt so happy to be seeing Nick sooner rather than later, however, guilt settled in that she accidently cut Nick’s visit with his Mom short. 

But Mrs. Wilde didn’t seem to mind at all. _And he can’t wait to see you either!_

This made Judy bounce on her toes. Maybe she could say something at the station. Or would that be too much? Too soon? Well, she could always just play it by ear, just to be safe. 

_Ugh! C’mon Judy…_

She forced herself to calm down as the train rocketed to its final destination. The train swept through the last bend of the Rainforest District and passed into Downtown. Zootopia’s grand skyline beamed brightly against the setting sunshine. The excitement she felt swelling through her at the moment was almost on par as the very first day she arrived, which seemed so long ago. Judy peered through the glass as the train shuttled along the last turn, into the final stretch that would end in Savanna Central.

The train slowed as it braked into its resting position and came to the end of its journey, the conductor announcing their arrival. Judy was already at the door, suitcase in one paw, care package in the other, eagerly bouncing on her toes between the legs of much larger mammals. As soon as the sliding double doors opened, the bunny was the first one out; a wide toothy smile on her muzzle as she quickly hopped to the center of the main walking platform and scanned the crowd with perked ears. 

No sign of Nick yet. 

Judy continued to look and listen in anticipation through the crowds for several minutes, her lower lip tucked in, exposing her bucktooth. Nothing. Her ears drooped in disappointment. _Perhaps he’s stuck in traffic somewhere or the train arrived early._ Lost in thought, she didn’t pay attention to a familiar figure approaching her from behind, coming to rest just inches away.

Her long ears twitched and shot up at the sound of a familiar smooth voice; his warm breath tickling them.

“Ma’am, you seem to be looking for someone. Can I help you find them?”

It took considerable effort not to turn around. Judy chuckled at the all too familiar playfulness she missed. _There’s my dumb fox._

“Gosh, I don’t know, kind sir. I’m looking for a scruffy-looking dumb fox. You didn’t happen to see one skulking around here, did you?”

“I may have. I know everybody and I’ve been told I’m pretty good at finding things…” the voice said. She could feel the smile behind the teasing words.

That was all Judy could handle. Without warning, she spun around, dropped her luggage, and completely slammed into the waiting torso of her partner.

Despite all the preparation in the world for the inevitable bunny glomp, the fox found himself unable to keep balance as Judy’s often underestimated strength toppled him over, causing Nick to land on his tail as she bear-hugged the life out of him. He could still feel some pain from his bruises caused by the confrontation with EJ but kept quiet; not wanting to ruin the moment as he wrapped his arms around the petite bunny clinging to him.

Judy kept her eyes closed, taking a big breath, and squeezed a little harder; feeling completely content in their shared warmth. She was exactly where she wanted to be. _She was home._

Ignoring the stares of random passersby, the duo remained in their warm embrace for a long time before Judy released her mighty grip and looked up to Nick with a big smile, only to just now realize he was still in his police uniform. She also noticed that he too dropped something he must have been carrying. It looked like a plastic bag filled with several containers of a delicious smelling freshly cooked meal.

“Sorry… I didn’t know you were carrying food!”

“Don’t worry, Carrots. Dinner’s safe. Mom’s tapirware is made of steel.”

Judy paused. _Wait. That’s not take out in the bag!? They were having dinner too? Oh shiitake mushrooms!_

Gazing upon her partner’s gesture in disbelief, Judy scooted backwards a short distance. Before she could say anything, Nick raised his brow at her shocked expression and picked himself off the ground while dusting his trousers. Suddenly, a loud growl caused them to both pause and stare wide-eyed at one another.

The officer offered her a paw while grinning. “Well, I guess we better go eat before _somebunny_ gets hangry while the food’s still piping hot!”

Embarrassment from the hunger overpowered her astonishment because she’d barely eaten anything at all today. Judy shielded her stomach with crossed arms and glared back at him. “I do _not_ get hangry!”

Another growl; this one even more pronounced. 

“Right. And that’s not your stomach begging for mercy while you scowl at me?” he teased, paw still extended.

Further furrowing her brow, Judy relented and took his paw as Nick helped her stand.

“Remember that one day we were stuck in traffic for three hours and you… ow!”

With a passing thump on her partner’s foot, Judy picked up the food. Before she could grab her luggage, Nick already nabbed the suitcase and care package and was ready to go with a smug grin.

“My place or yours?”

 _That_ phrasing certainly wasn’t helping. Judy silently gulped as her expression softened. “Can we go to my place? I can drop off my things there.”

“Sure can,” Nick smiled. 

Returning his pleasing smile, the bunny and fox walked side by side in comfortable silence, exiting the crowded station and heading towards the subway. After the short ride, they arrived at the Grand Pangolin Arms building. Judy unlocked the door and let Nick go inside first. The tiny dusty apartment was not the most inviting of spaces but it was still her home. 

Nick set the luggage next to the cabinet and the package onto Judy’s desk as he turned to the far wall with attentive ears. It was surprisingly quiet. “Sounds like Mr. Medulla and Mr. Oblongata aren’t home.”

“Nick!” the bunny snickered and lightly socked her partner’s arm. “They’re not _that_ bad. Though… it _is_ kinda nice.”

The fox took the tapirware full of food, along with some cheap plastic plates and utensils that Mrs. Wilde provided, and began to heat the servings in the microwave. Judy hopped up on her bed, paws on her stomach, eagerly awaiting the meal, and smiling to herself as she watched Nick finish reheating the food.

“One Wilde Family Special coming right up!” he announced, handing her the plate of steamy food.

Judy couldn’t wait any longer and dived in with her fork, practically shoveling morsels of loaf into her tiny mouth. “Holy marmalade… this is so good! What is it?”

“Mom’s special veggie loaf,” Nick chuckled as he pushed her tiny desk chair out next to the bed and planted himself in it, sitting backwards while leaning against the top rail with his plate of food.

Nick pleasantly smiled as he watched Judy chewing away; eyes closed with both poofy cheeks full of savory loaf and a very content tiny smile on her muzzle. The fox dug into his own plate, devouring the remainder of his leftover portions that he started eating at his mom’s.

As they nearly finished their portions, Judy swallowed a bite and looked over to her partner, wanting to make conversation. “So, how’s everyone at the station?”

“I knew you’d start asking about work, Officer Fluff.” the officer winked.

She stuck her tongue out. “What’s wrong with asking how the guys are doing?”

“They’re good, however, a few called in sick recently, Francine went on paid migration yesterday, and Fangmeyer went toe-to-claw with some kangaroo street fighter in Outback Island.”

“Oh… is she okay?”

“Yeah, Steph sure mammal-handled him good,” the fox chuckled. “You two have a lot in common. Remind me not to get on her bad side.”

Judy lightly kicked Nick with her left hind paw toes in response, happy to be back with their familiar bantering. “You always get on everyone’s bad side, Slick.” The half-lidded eyes and mischievous smile betrayed her words.

“Ouch… vicious bunny.” Nick said, rubbing his side. He paused for a moment before adding, “They do miss you, ya know?”

“Do they? Aw, that’s so sweet…” Judy leaned forward a little closer, tilting her head. “Anyone else?”

Nick stopped mid-motion with his fork, mouth open. He glanced at Judy who was watching him expectantly. _This again!_ Perhaps his Mom’s words were throwing him off and making him interpret things differently. “Definitely Claws. He asks me about you at least three times a day,” he said and shoved the food into his mouth as an excuse to shut it.

The bunny narrowed her eyes. A different approach then. “Tell me about your case! I wanna hear all about it,” Judy jostled excitedly with clasped paws. 

This made Nick smirk as he put his empty plate away and leaned forward on the top rail of the chair with criss-crossed arms. “Well, I do recall Chief Buffalo-Butt saying something about you and no police work, Officer Fluff. You’re still on vacation.”

“Don’t be a jerk!” Judy grumbled before scooting closer to the edge of her bed and batting her eyes. “Please, Nick!”

 _Those damn big bunny eyes of her’s again._ It took considerable effort for Nick to keep up his teasing facade. “First off, no can do.” The fox pointed out before pointing at Judy directly. “Second, what you can do with those things is just _criminal._ ”

Seeing her partner not budge, now Judy crossed her arms in mock annoyance. “Well, if that’s how it’s gonna be then…” she hopped off the bed with a devious smirk, set her plate down, and began to open her care package.

The fox eyed the bunny intently. After a bit of rummaging, Judy turned around with an extra large box of blueberries in her paws. Nick was unable to keep a straight poker face and gasped. He quickly half-turned himself around in the chair, holding out eager paws.

 _Now it’s my turn._ Judy pretended to hand over the blueberries, only to pull back at the last second.

“Hey!” Nick said in surprise.

“Gosh. Looks like someone forgot his promise…” Judy said with half-lidded eyes.

“What promise?”

“Gee, I don’t know… that this next batch was gonna be for Brian.” Judy informed with a goofy grin exposing her front bucktooth while standing with her hip to the side, holding the blueberries out of reach.

“Uh… I didn’t forget.” Nick crossed his arms with a serious expression. “I was making sure you didn’t forget. Way to pass the test with flying colors, Carrots! You get a gold star!”

“Pft. Sure. You aren’t hustling anyone, Slick.” the bunny rolled her eyes and put the blueberries back into the package. 

Nick’s ears flattened in disappointment, only to momentarily perk up again when Judy turned around with a second, even larger box of blueberries. “Well, lookie here… what’s this? Another box?”

Unable to stop his tail from slightly wagging, Judy noticed and kept the tease going. She fished out just one blueberry from the container. She waved it near her mouth. “What’s it gonna be, Nick?”

“Now that is just cruel and unusual punishment,” Nick whined while leaning forward with both elbows on his knees. The fox put a paw on his heart in mock exasperation. “And trying to bribe an officer of the law? You bad bunny.”

“Guess _somefox_ doesn’t want dessert…” Judy held the single blueberry high; making an exaggerated slow motion to hover the plump juicy fruit over her open mouth. “I’m serious… here it goes…”

Surprised, that Nick wasn’t continuing his protest, Judy decided to follow through; fully tilting her head up and dropping the blueberry. Predatory eyes tracked the trajectory as the fox coiled onto his prey. Nick snapped forward, tilting his own muzzle and snatched the blueberry midair in his mouth.

To her credit, Judy didn’t flinch. Her ears shot up in astonishment as she stared at Nick, blinking her eyes afterwards.

“Mmmwah! Delicious!” he smirked, licking his lips.

“You!” Judy lunged.

“Moi? Wha… no, no, no!” Nick put up his paws in defense, attempting to leap out of the chair as his partner pounced him. The two of them fell onto Judy’s bed. “Carrots, stop! Police brutality!”

“I’ll show _you_ brutality!” Judy began to tickle the life out of Nick who curled up into a fetal position, attempting to protect his precious midsection from the assault of tiny soft paws. “Are you gonna talk?”

Attempting to smack Judy with his tail proved futile. Nick attempted to fight back but it was a losing battle. “Okay, okay! I surrender! I’ll talk!”

The bunny placed her paws on her hips, hovering over Nick in triumph. Noticing their closeness, Judy slowly eased off to squat on her hind legs, while Nick pushed himself upright, patting down his ruffled uniform. The two shared a hesitant chuckle.

Crossing his legs with paws on his stomach in a very relaxed slouch, Nick smiled. “Where shall I start?”

“The beginning of course. I want to hear all of it!” Judy exclaimed.

“One thrilling tale of suspense, drama, and action; starring an incredibly handsome fox, coming right up.”

“Hmm. I didn’t ask for a tall tale, Nick. Just the facts.” the bunny poked her partner.

Wiggling his eyebrows, Nick began to recount the investigation from the moment Bogo handed him the case, nine days ago. Judy listened intently as Nick shared his interviews, leads, and deductions; the chance meeting with Donna and chasing down Dinks; learning that a fox was involved; how Valerie informed him of the ZPC and helped secure a meeting with the Commissioner; to following her secretary and stumbling upon one of the buildings posed as a dollhouse in her brother’s toy store. Nick observed Judy’s wide range of astonished expressions with amusement. 

Resuming his typical smug smirk, the fox leaned further against the bedside wall. The both of them kept stealing glances at one another. Nick always liked seeing Judy in her country bumpkin clothes as he called them. This particular blue flannel shirt she was wearing looked great against her gray fur. Judy on the other paw, smiled at seeing Nick in his officer’s uniform; the navy color always contrasting so nicely against his red fur. Judy scooted a little closer but not too close. Their legs would occasionally brush each other as Nick told the rest of his story.

The bunny giggled when learning about the makeup kit and him convincing Finnick to be his daughter only to immediately have her ears droop and reach out to his arm with both paws when he shared the heated argument in the alley in detail.

The fox officer continued his narration and told her about the subpoenaed phone logs, finding EJ and Phil, and tailing them to discover how they acquired the stamped documents. Once he knew which building was targeted next, he told Judy how he spent two straight nights in a bunch of shrubs, only for Finnick to find him the second night. This made Judy smile. Then came the part about video taping them stealing the building, following them to Happytown, the confrontation, and the arrest.

Judy couldn’t help but tap Nick in the arm for the banana and fruit in the tailpipe bit and scoot closer during the stand-off segment. The look on her face made Nick reassure his partner that he and Finnick didn’t get hurt too seriously. He concluded the events at the station the following morning and his little press conference with the Mayor. Naturally he left out the part about his moment with Chief Bogo.

“And that’s it. After that was just two days of paperwork.”

His partner still held her paws on his arm. “I’m sure that must have been tough on you, Nick. I knew you could do it! And I’m so proud of you for trying to help them afterwards with Valerie.” She wondered what it might be like if she had to arrest another rabbit for a major crime. Judy came closer to side hug him. Her left paw moved over his heart, right below his badge.

“Thanks, Carrots.” he returned the squeeze. _It sure feels great to have her back._

Glancing at her clock, it was only 7:48PM. Judy separated and picked up the blueberries while walking over to her small-sized pink bunny-shaped TV. “Let’s watch something!”

“I’m game. Just no crime shows,” Nick winked.

Judy threw a blueberry at him before grabbing the remote and hopping back onto the bed next to him, relinquishing the blueberries to her partner. Nick loosened his collar and tie to be more comfortable before reaching into the blueberry box in his lap and began tossing them back. Judy glanced at him with a big smile and started to flip through several channels. After a brief debate, they settled on watching some Swinefeld reruns. 

“Hah. I remember this one. It’s the one with the smell in the car.”

“Shhh.” she elbowed him. “I haven’t seen this one.”

“How have you not?” he asked incredulously. “Everyone’s seen this episode.”

“Nick!” Judy hissed.

“Shutting up now…” he whispered, popping more berries into his mouth.

The fox and bunny shared laughter as the episodes continued. At some point once they were quietly comfortable, Judy found herself snuggled into Nick’s left side. This wasn’t unusual for them but now having realized she was in love with her best friend, the bunny bit her lip. Judy glanced up. Nick appeared to be pretty nonchalant about it, staring straight ahead at the TV screen like a laser.

Judy felt the natural desire to put her paw on his leg, just like long ago when they watched that Savage Seas movie. The thought of that spy movie brought forth the memory of that explicit romance scene between the rabbit and fox protagonists. The bunny felt herself blush. She forced her ears down to hide the spreading warmth. Despite that, it didn’t quell her desire; summoning her courage, Judy decided to test the waters. 

Meanwhile, Nick sat there in quiet contemplation. He wasn’t really paying attention to the show anymore, occasionally blinking his eyes to fight his creeping drowsiness. When Judy pressed against him, it took all of his willpower to keep his eyes forward and be cool with it. She often leaned on him whenever they watched something together and he always enjoyed the blissful warmth and fluffy comfort. His Mom’s words continued bouncing around in his foxy brain like a bunch of sheep hopping over a white picket fence.

A new sensation pulled him out from his internal conflict. Nick could feel Judy’s paw land on his thigh. Suddenly the room was feeling a whole lot hotter as he very slowly exhaled through his nose. With a tiny gulp, he dared to look down. The fox’s inquisitive eyes greeted the bunny’s wishful eyes and they remained fixated for a long moment. They’re two faces hovered only inches apart; slow breathes mixing. Judy appeared to nudge closer and pursed her lips as if she was about to speak.

_C’mon Judy. Say something!_

“Nick.” Judy noticed Nick’s ears flick forward, his full attention completely focused on her. “Nick… I…”

Before Judy could finish her sentence, her ears twitched and both mammals started at the sounds of a loud voice booming through the paper thin greasy walls.

“Hey, the bunny’s back already?”

“I thought she was supposed to be gone for two weeks.”

“Maybe somebody broke into her apartment?”

“What moron breaks into a cop’s apartment and starts watching TV?”

“I dunno, maybe it’s her boyfriend.”

“Don’t you remember that last conversation? She said they’re _only_ friends.”

“Yeah, well I don’t believe her! You hear how she sounds when she talks about him.”

“What are you, some kind of love doctor?”

“Oh shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

Judy withdrew her paw immediately, a sense of dread washing over her. _No! This is bad!_

“Shut your mouth!”

“Shut up!”

The bunny snapped. “Argh… GUYS shut up!”

To everyone’s surprise, the kudu and oryx quickly stopped yelling. A moment of awkward silence passed.

“Hey bunny, I thought you’d be gone for a few more days?”

“I came home early! We’d appreciate it if you guys would be _quiet!_ ” Judy hissed.

“Did she say _we_?”

More silence. Judy and Nick glanced back at one another. Neither of them knowing what to say.

“Don’t mind us. As you were.”

“How are they supposed to go back to as they were, idiot?”

“They won’t if you don’t shut up!”

“No, you shut up!

“Shut up!”

Judy was just about ready to kill those two. She brushed her ears back, leaving a paw back there to nervously rub her left ear. The bunny found herself completely locked up. She certainly didn’t want to say anything in front of Bucky and Pronk. Not that she was afraid or cared what they might think but Bucky’s words… and Nick...

Nick had turned back to the wall, sending a thousand yard stare through it as Bucky’s words pierced his heart. _She said they’re only friends._

Conflicted for now, he didn’t care for the extra noisy company at this moment. His eyes darted over to Judy’s alarm radio. 10:36PM. That was his cue.

The fox returned his partner’s gaze, putting his best poker face forward. “Say, Carrots. I… uh… better head home. It’s getting late.” 

Mouth pursed, Judy watched as Nick readjusted his tie, scooped up his Mom’s tapirware, and sauntered towards her door. He stopped and made sure to smile genuinely for her. “Thanks for having me over. I’m glad you’re back.”

Nose twitching, Judy pushed herself off the mattress. “Wait, Nick!” She turned off the TV and ran up to him, not knowing what else to say. It was hard to concentrate with the constant yelling in the background. “I… I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“You bet,” Nick smirked and headed out.

“Okay, Nick.” she did her best to force a smile back. “Goodnight.”

“Night, Fluff.”

And with that he was out in the hallway and closed her door. Despite her droopy ears, Judy was gnashing her teeth as Bucky and Pronk continued to shout at one another. Her bunny paws now balled into tightly wound fists, foot rapidly thumping the floor. 

Down the hallway and rounding the railing, Nick descended the first few stairs before pausing to lean against the wall, his left paw rubbing over his heart. His mind was a mess of conflicting observations. _That kudu, Bucky said that Judy only considered us friends… yet, she’s been acting different lately. And that paw on my leg…_

Nick rubbed his temples with a heavy sigh. _Forget about it, Wilde. Better go home and sleep on it._

Back down the hallway, a door could be heard swinging wide open, followed by light stomping, very loud knocking, and another door opening.

“Yeah?” Bucky answered.

“What’s she doing with that pillow? Secret Pillow Fight Club isn’t till next week.”

“Hey! First rule - you’re _not_ supposed to talk about it! Hey bunny, what are you… AAHHH!”

The hallway echoed with the sounds of furious whumping and the shrieks of a terrified kudu and oryx.

* * *

Just as the clock struck 5:28AM, Judy opened her eyes. Seems being back in the city set her biological clock right back to police hours despite the fact that it took some time to calm herself after smacking Bucky and Pronk around last night for disrupting her near moment with Nick. After the whupping, they reluctantly gave her a half-hearted apology, causing Judy to take a deep breath, count to three, and also apologize for her actions.

After enjoying a groaning stretch, she hopped over to her tiny mini fridge. The sight of the two boxes of blueberries made her frown. _Nick left his blueberries here._

With a sigh, she reached into the fridge to whip out some food her Mom packed for breakfast. Much better than eating one of those terrible ‘Carrots for One’ microwavable meals. Once breakfast was over, the bunny passed the time to tidy up her apartment, neatly hanging her clothes back into the cabinet and dusting the room.

Knowing Nick would already be heading to work, Judy decided to distract her mind by going for a run. She’d text him later to see how he’s doing.

Meanwhile, later that morning found Officer Wilde being pulled from patrolling Savanna Central back to the main Downtown Business District as Clawhauser informed him that a series of street lights had gone out, causing a few major accidents and traffic needed to be rerouted. The intersection was full of angry drivers shouting and honking their horns.

Nick was standing on top of Officer Rhinowitz’s shoulders directing traffic with his aviators on, pawpsicle in one paw and a megaphone in the other as the rhino motioned according to the smaller fox officer’s instructions. Another rhino, Officer Krumpansky, was watching the opposite direction.

“Alright folks… your turn, move along…” he ordered the next wave of cars with his paw, a smug grin on his snout as he smoothly shouted directions. “Sir, your honking isn’t going to make everyone move any faster… Hey, no cutting across! I’m watching you... You kits over there, no stealing the traffic cones - aren’t you supposed to be in school?… Alright, you folks next, keep it going...”

Rhinowitz motioned the next set of vehicles. “Think you’re enjoying this too much, Wilde.”

“I do believe I’ve found my _true_ calling. Getting paid to herd mammals is easy street,” Nick said while taking a lick.

“These rodents sure takin’ their time all nice and easy. Slower than a sloth in a hundred yard dash. I’m sweatin’ here,” he grumbled at the huge caravan of lemmings in business suits who were delaying the next round of crossing vehicles. There must have been over a hundred tiny cars.

“It’s not that bad, Witz…” Nick grinned. “You gotta relax buddy, crack a smile, smell that sweet mostly fresh air…” the fox inhaled as a truck drove by; spewing forth a nice billow of exhaust, causing Nick to waft the foul air. “Okay, it’s not fresh at all. Anyway, sloths aren’t _that_ slow. I know a guy who races. We were on the track team together.”

“Yeah? How’d that go?”

“Let’s just say I never finished last unless I wanted to,” Nick smirked. “Helped me pass the class.”

“Hah,” the bulky rhino chuckled.

“Hey, you over there!” Nick suddenly directed the horn at an impatient giraffe driver. “Watch the rodent vehicles, ma’am. We don’t want any 10-54’s today!”

As the vehicles began to funnel through more smoothly, Rhinowitz glanced over at the fox on his shoulder. “When’s Hopps coming back? She still in Bunnyburrow, right?”

The rhino’s question caused Nick to cough into the megaphone; sending a loud boom across the street and turning a few heads.

“Uh…” Nick paused a moment. _Shouldn’t matter if anyone knows. Right?_ “Actually, she came home early last night.”

“Nice. Good for you, Wilde.” Rhinowitz smiled while giving Nick a thumbs up.

 _What’s that supposed to mean?_ The comment caused Nick to get distracted as his mind drifted back to Judy and last night. The paw, the way she had looked at him, she was going to say something when...

Ignoring the impatient honking and mobs shouting, Nick was snapped back to reality when his fellow officer yelled up to him. “Yo, Wilde. You awake up there?”

“Whoopsie. My bad…” Nick shook himself and dropped it; returning his attention to the task at paw, guiding the new wave of cross traffic through the intersection.

* * *

A few hours passed and Judy was treating herself to a nice leafy salad at one of her favorite Downtown cafes. The bunny was sitting out in the patio, soaking in the sunshine and mammal-watching the herds of pedestrians rushing about during lunch hour. The hustle and bustle of the city was like day and night compared to homely Bunnyburrow and she loved every second of it.

Judy took a gulp of her carrot juice, leaning on one of her paws. _I can’t believe I couldn’t say anything last night. Maybe I can try again today._ A pastry delivery truck drove by that caught her attention. _Oh. I know what I can do! And I still have those blueberries..._

Once lunch was finished, the bunny was on her way to the grocery store when her phone notified her of a text. Recognizing the little ding, Judy smiled and checked the message. 

[Nick:] “Hey Carrots. Stuck on traffic duty. Might be a late shift. I’ll message ya later.”

This unfortunate piece of news made Judy frown.

[Judy:] “Okay, Nick. Let me know!”

Judy ended the message with a little heart and carrots emoji before hitting send. Nick’s text reminded her of something she wanted to do. Groceries could wait till later. With the new bit of free time, the bunny headed to the nearest subway station to take a train to Savanna Central. 

A short while later, Judy found herself in front of an old acquainted home. She tapped the doorbell and wrung her paws. An older vixen opened the door then found herself looking down when she noticed familiar black tipped ears.

“Hi!” Judy waved with a little bounce on her flatfeet. 

“Judy!” Mrs. Wilde gasped with welcoming arms. “What brings you here, my dear?”

The elderly fox and bunny embraced in a warm hug. “I wanted to thank you for that veggie loaf last night and apologize for interrupting your dinner with Nick.”

“Oh, don’t even start, sweetie. I hope you liked it?” Mrs. Wilde pleasantly smiled.

“It was wonderful!” Judy replied with clasped paws.

“Good. Now come inside and have some tea with me. I insist.”

Not like Judy was going to decline but Mrs. Wilde quickly led her inside by the paw and chauffeured her to the sofa before disappearing into the kitchen. Judy took the opportunity to look around the room. It had been three months since she last visited. _Time sure went by fast._ The green wallpaper instantly reminded her of Nick and that brought a bright smile to her muzzle.

“Here you are. Green tea with mint if I remember!” Mrs. Wilde announced while setting the coffee table.

“Thank you,” Judy said, taking a nice whiff of the pleasant aroma with closed eyes.

“You know…” Mrs. Wilde took a seat next to Judy. “I’ve never been out of the city. You must tell me all about your trip.”

“Oh. Of course!” 

Judy shared everything about the past week’s events back home in great detail. Mrs. Wilde enjoyed hearing about the wedding and the reception. The bunny made sure to leave out the part about Morty. She told Mrs. Wilde how Nick talked to Cotton and how much her little sister liked him. This made the elder vixen happily smile. Then Judy recounted some of her daily activities and answered any questions in general about Bunnyburrow and her family.

“Do you have any pictures from your trip?” the vixen asked.

“Sure! Let me show you,” Judy exclaimed and scooted closer. 

Mrs. Wilde leaned in as Judy brought up her phone. She pursed her mouth when she saw Judy’s wallpaper. It was the exact same heartwarming photo that her son had on his phone. Blinking back misty eyes, Mrs. Wilde put a paw on Judy’s shoulder while the bunny flipped through her gallery. There was lots of photos from the celebration and random selfies with various siblings and her parents.

“You have a beautiful family, Judy,” Mrs. Wilde complimented. 

The warm words gave Judy pause. She realized that she didn’t know much else about the rest of Nick and Mrs. Wilde’s family. “Do you have any relatives here in Zootopia, Mrs. Wilde?”

Nick’s mom was quiet for a moment before she replied with a small curl of her lips. “Just me and my dumb fox of a son.”

“Oh… I’m sorry, I didn’t think before I asked…” the bunny’s ears drooped. 

“Judy. It’s okay, dear.” Mrs. Wilde patted her knee and changed the topic. “Speaking of my dumb son… did you and Nicholas enjoy yourselves last night?”

Flashbacks of being against Nick and nearly spitting out her feelings came to the forefront of Judy’s mind, followed by the unexpected interruption. “It was… real great!”

The elder vixen raised her brow, waiting for the bunny to continue. Mrs. Wilde sensed a trepidation in Judy, the bunny’s subtle words and body language betraying her.

Taking the hint Judy continued, “We… ate dinner and watched some TV… then Nick had to go home.”

Fighting back a frown, listening to the subtle tone of Judy’s frustrated voice, Mrs. Wilde kept quiet. It wasn’t her place to interfere. _Nicholas, you stubborn mule of a fox._ “Sounds like a lovely evening. Any plans for later?”

“I’m waiting for Nick to let me know when he’s done with his shift.” Judy reached into a pocket, “I planned to make this!”

Taking the tiny piece of paper, Mrs. Wilde studied what appeared to be a recipe with some extra instructions scribbled around it. It brought a big grin to her short snout. “Oh… he’ll _love_ this. Wait here, I have just the thing for you…”

Vanishing into the kitchen again, Mrs. Wilde fetched a special item out of the fridge. Judy curiously watched over the back of the couch when her phone dinged again. It was another text from Nick.

[Nick:] “Sorry, Fluff. Chief needs me to work a double. Grizzoli and Wolfard sick. Some canine virus making the rounds. Gotta help Fangmeyer and Delgato. Talk to you tomorrow.”

Judy groaned. _Just my squashing luck!_ She attempted to hide her disappointment as Mrs. Wilde came back out with a peculiar small tub of vanilla bean ice cream. 

“His favorite brand. Put this on top,” she offered with a beaming smile.

“Huh?” Judy cocked an eyebrow, accepting the ice cream and looking it over. “I’ve never seen him eat this at home.”

“That’s because I’ve never told him where I buy it… was always the perfect bribe to hustle him into doing his chores,” Mrs. Wilde explained.

Judy chortled. “Okay! I’ll do it tomorrow.” 

“Not tonight?”

“Nick just texted that he has to work a double shift today,” Judy sighed.

“I see.” Mrs. Wilde’s own ears flattened at the news. “Well, you're welcome to stay and chat as long as you’d like. I don’t mind.”

“I could stay a little longer!” Judy said excitedly.

“I’ll fetch us some snacks.” Mrs. Wilde stood once more, taking the ice cream so she could return it to the freezer. “You can tell me all about your cases. I want to hear if my son is behaving himself.”

“Behaving?” The bunny chuckled with half-lidded eyes. “Being his partner is my _worst_ nightmare!”

“I knew it,” Mrs. Wilde smirked back.

“Oh!” Judy clapped. “I can tell you about the one with the stinky cheese!”

* * *

Officer Wilde found himself completely slouched in his desk chair. Two back to back shifts, a little bit of sleep, and gallons of coffee kept him going into the next day. 

After spending most of the morning with Rhinowitz, the fox officer was then tasked to assist the VICE team in Tundratown on a catnip bust. With Wolfard and Grizzoli out, they needed more noses to sniff out a warehouse located in Glacier Falls that was suspected to belong to a small snow lynx gang. To Nick’s surprise he was reunited with Brian for this assignment and the two former classmates worked together to find a hidden storage area and sniffed out the trafficked goods. Nick informed the small timberwolf that Judy brought him a little surprise from home which delighted the officer from Precinct Two.

On the way back to Precinct One, Nick had the luck of pulling over a speeding pig without proper snow tires and an expired driver’s license. The driver appeared to be high and attempted to make a run for it. Unfortunately for him, no one knew the city better than Nick; quickly catching his suspect and bringing him into the station to be booked.

Then in the middle of his paperwork, Chief Bogo came by needing him to stay overnight to work a shift with Delgato. A twenty minute power nap later, found the fox and lion duo patrolling the north end of Sahara Square when Clawhauser radioed the two officers to head over to Hyenahurst in the Canyonlands for a 10-15, a domestic noise complaint, where a group of hyena frat boys were causing a ruckus with an initiation ritual. They managed to break up the party but not without having to arrest two hyenas for indecent exposure and disorderly conduct. The night ended when they disrupted a 10-94; drag racers competing on a long neighborhood strip in Gnu York.

Back at the precinct again the following morning, Nick was patrolling Savanna Central when Clawhauser called in a 10-62, a neighbor reported a breaking and entering in progress, in a nearby neighborhood. The cat burglar broke into a home, stole a few valuables including some food that he dropped as he made his getaway. Nick was able to speak with the witness and follow the breadcrumbs all the way to the feline’s home a few blocks away and make the arrest. 

On his lunch break, the officer sent a quick text to Judy then attempted a short nap in his cruiser under the shade of a few trees in a park, only to be woken by the sounds of a purse snatching. He then chased the weasel thief through the park and into a Dik-Dik’s sporting goods store, where the weasel attempted to hide but to no avail. Nick had to laugh when the weasel tried to pose like a mannequin next to a few displays.

After popping the weasel back to the station, Nick was greeted with the usual mountaintop of paperwork. Taking another sip of coffee, Nick leaned back over and began to scribble random notes. He almost found his bleary-eyed face on the desk when a loud boom shook him awake.

“WILDE!”

“I’m on it! I was just resting my eyes, sir!” Nick began to furiously type on his keyboard.

“You’re no good to anyone exhausted.” Chief Bogo snorted as he walked by. “Go home and take the afternoon off. Finish your paperwork tomorrow.”

“I knew you never meant it when you say you don’t care, Chief,” Nick smirked while swiveling around.

“Shut it, Wilde, unless you want to work another double. Now get out of here before I change my mind!” Bogo ordered.

“Aye aye, sir!” came the lazy salute and a quick exit into the locker room; deciding to take a nice shower before heading home.

* * *

Elsewhere, Judy hopped down the hallway with a large paper bag in her paws. Coming to a familiar door with a nice foxy welcome sign, she managed with the keys and let herself inside. The bunny stepped into Nick’s apartment and closed the door with her foot. She placed the bag onto the coffee table to give her arms a little rest.

On the table she recognized the pink cologne bottle and candy bag that Nick showed her a couple days ago when she was still in Bunnyburrow. Judy inspected the bottle and took a few whiffs. It actually did smell nice. Noticing the crude scribble of the stinky fox on the label caused her to snicker. 

Setting the bottle down, she looked over the hefty candy bag. Surprisingly, there was still a fair amount of candies inside.

“What is it with foxes and sweets?” Judy chuckled to herself with a pleased smile. She helped herself to a piece; a nice dark chocolate morsel with a fruity interior. It was very bittersweet and melted in her mouth.

Glancing around the living room while savoring the treat, Judy could tell Nick hadn’t really been home much lately. She felt bad that he had to work nearly three back to back shifts. As she scanned the room, her eyes landed on the partially open office door. Curiosity took hold and she approached the room; putting her paw on the door knob.

Judy remembered there was something Nick was constantly working on some time ago, as she often caught him coming out of the office and closing the door. Pausing at the door, the sudden memory rush of her trying to peek inside came flooding back; the attempted leap, Nick catching her midair, and their eventually rolling around on the floor, only to stop with Nick right on top of her when…

The bunny’s nose twitched rapidly as a warmth and blush spread under her cheek fur and ears. Shaking her focus back, Judy looked down at her paw on the door knob. Frowning at herself with a small head shake, she gripped the knob tighter and closed the office door shut without peeking inside.

She grabbed the grocery bag and headed into the kitchen where she used a nice little stepping stool Nick bought so that she could use the counter more easily. Placing the bag on the breakfast bar, Judy began to fish out all of the ingredients she purchased and arrange them neatly on the counter. 

With clasped paws and an excited toothy grin, it was time to start. “Okay, Judy,” she told herself. “You can do this!”

* * *

Sometime later, Officer Wilde sauntered down the hallway, twirling his keys around his finger. A big yawn escaped his mouth, the hot shower he took at the station made him more sleepy rather than helping him wake up. Nick had changed into some fresh clothes after and dropped off his uniform for dry cleaning; the fox deciding he’d use his spare uniform for tomorrow. As he came closer to his apartment door, a wondrous smell greeted his nose. 

The sweet aroma made Nick pause and take a step back. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath as his mouth watered. _Wow. Smells like blueberries._ Somebody was baking something utterly delectable. Pushing himself forward, Nick slowly began to realize that the delicious smell was getting stronger the closer he got to his door. Standing outside, he jiggled his key into the keyhole, noticing that the door was already unlocked. Partially suspicious and partially in wonder, the fox officer cautiously opened the door only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.

Nick’s eyes bulged and his mouth hung open as he looked straight into the kitchen. “Carrots!?”

Judy spun around to face her partner. “Oh… hey, Nick! You’re home early!”

It took another moment for Nick to collect himself, suddenly feeling more alert. “Are you… baking something?”

“Uh huh. I wanted to surprise you. So… surprise! It’s almost done,” she announced with arms wide.

“Color me so…” Nick said as he came into his kitchen where the enticing aroma engulfed him and overloaded his senses. His neutral face betrayed the fact that he was actually stunned by Judy’s gesture. He leaned an elbow on the counter and gestured to the oven, a kitchen towel blocking the view inside of it. “What’s baking?”

“You’ll just have to wait and find out, impatient fox,” Judy ordered while putting a paw against the oven door to halt any advances.

Nick was smirking before he suddenly looked past Judy and started. “Oh my god!”

“What? What?” she twirled around to look at his fridge. 

Utilizing the opportunity, Nick lunged to move the towel. 

“Oh no you don’t, you rascal!” Judy leaped at Nick after realizing her folly.

Too slow to sneak a peek, the fox bolted out of the kitchen area instead with a bunny in hot pursuit. “It’s not my fault you’re so gullible, Carrots!”

“Come back here you scaredy cat!”

“Hey, just because that impala mistook me for a kitty that one time doesn’t make me one!” Nick yelled back, putting the couch between them.

Naturally, Judy leaped right over the couch but Nick wasn’t falling for that again and ducked back the way he came, darting away. Unfortunately it only delayed the inevitable when his partner got a hold of him, tripped him up, and pinned him down.

The fox yipped as he fell, attempting to roll onto his back. There was a loud clicking sound and the feel of metal on his wrists. “Wha? How? Where were you even hiding these things?” Nick asked while staring at a pair of pawcuffs on his wrists.

A triumphant Judy hovered over him with a winning smirk, flashing the key. “You’re under arrest, Slick Nick.”

“Really? For what?” Nick decided to play along.

“10-62,” Judy shared and lowered her tone. “A shifty fox attempting a breaking and entering with the oven.”

“Well, you got me, Officer Fluff,” he smirked and jostled the cuffs. “What’s the punishment?”

“You can just sit there and think about what you’ve done until your surprise is ready,” Judy said, waving the key in her paw before putting it away in a pocket, leaving her partner on the floor.

Nick took his partner’s words literally, eyes returning to the cuffs. _She’s never done something like this before._ Sure she often brought food over and the two of them were often quite physically friendly and very playfully flirty at times but something about this felt entirely different to him. 

_You’re overthinking it Wilde. Just your best friend doing something nice for you. Don’t spoil it, you dumb fox._

Rolling himself up, Nick decided to slide onto one of his barstools next to the breakfast bar and observe Judy impatiently looking at her pink FitBite sports watch. 

The fox crossed his arms together and leaned over them. “Staring it down won’t bake it any faster…”

“I’ll have you know that…” Judy stopped, ears up when she heard metal clanking against the countertop. Turning around, the bunny found her partner out of the cuffs with an overly sized smug grin on his muzzle. “How did you...!?”

“Abnormally small wrists do come in handy,” he smirked while holding up his arms to emphasize his narrowing forearms, twisting his paws back and forth.

Judy didn’t know whether to be impressed or annoyed. Before she could speak, her watch alarm set off, alerting her that the surprise was finished. She pointed a finger at her partner. “ _You_ just got saved by the bell.”

Nick’s eyes followed Judy as she put on some rather oversized oven mitts meant for a fox and opened the oven door with her own little tail wiggle. The hot aroma blasted from the oven like a tsunami over Nick’s nose. Peering inside, he finally saw Judy’s surprise; a huge golden-brown blueberry pie.

Carefully removing the tray with the freshly baked dish, Judy gently placed the pie on top of the stove, proudly clasping her mitt-covered paws at the results. The bunny turned around to face her partner only to pause at the stunned look on Nick’s face.

Clamping his hanging mouth shut, Nick’s eyes met Judy’s. “You baked a blueberry pie?”

With paws behind her back, Judy appeared a little bashful. “Since we kinda ruined the last one we tried to make, I thought it would be nice to try again… I used the blueberries you left at my apartment…” her ears drooped. “I hope you don’t mind?”

With a sweet smile, Nick slid off the barstool and walked into the kitchen proper. He stood next to Judy, wrapping his paw around her petite shoulders. “Of course I don’t mind.”

Feeling happy, Judy playfully shoved Nick to get out of the kitchen.

“Hey!” he yelped looking over his shoulder.

“Sit back down while I cut you a slice,” she ordered.

Doing as he was instructed, Nick was back in his seat in no time flat. Before he could say anything else a nice slice on a small plate appeared below his snout along with a fork. It was hard to resist waiting any longer. Not wanting to be rude and diving in before Judy was ready, Nick took a deep breath and simply wafted the aroma. He was so distracted that he didn’t notice Judy hop to the freezer, fling it open, and jump to grab a bucket of ice cream. His ears flicked as Judy addressed him, sliding his plate away from him.

“Ah ah ah, Slick.” the bunny waved a disapproving finger at the fox. “You didn’t wait for the last touch.”

“What last touch?” he cocked a curious eyebrow.

With an ice cream scooper in paw, Judy plopped two creamy scoops onto the slice, which began to immediately melt into the pastry. “Don’t wait for me!”

The vanilla’s texture looked extremely familiar. Nick carefully pierced the desert with his fork and took a slow, deliberate bite. The flavors assaulted his taste buds as he swished the heavenly morsel around on his tongue. _Oh my god!_ Not only did the pie turn out perfect but this was his favorite brand of vanilla to go with it.

Nick whipped his head to face Judy who was already next to him with a plate of her own. “Well? Whatcha think?” she asked with a mix of curiosity and dread.

It would be too cruel to tease Judy about an oh-so-delicious confection she had made for him, so Nick decided on a half-tease. He leaned his chin on a paw with an easy going grin, smacking his lips loudly. “Not bad,” he critiqued, despite the fact that he deliberately took another huge chunk and stuffed it into his maw.

“Not bad!?” Judy scoffed. “I even asked Gideon how to…” She stopped herself mid sentence and winced, knowing that Gideon Grey might still be a sore subject for Nick.

To his credit, Nick didn’t let it get to him. In fact, his expression softened when he looked at Judy’s genuine worried gaze. “Judy. It’s wonderful. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten a better pie before. Thank you.”

His use of her name and the compliment made his partner completely perk up in joy; even her feet began to thump air from the high barstool. “Really!?”

“Really, really,” he smiled and took another big chomp. 

It dawned on Nick that he never shared with Judy about his love for this particular brand of ice cream since he was a kit; mostly because he could never find it. The only other mammal who knew about this was… _his mom._ Nick's eyes darted back over to Judy who was now sampling her own handiwork with an approving bite. 

_She went out of her way to talk to that baking fox back home and learned about this ice cream… from my mom?_

If he wasn’t confused enough already, Nick’s growing internal conflict was dealt another polarizing hand. The duo ate in comfortable silence. Besides the fact that he was starving, Nick further showed his appreciation by eating another slice. Then a third, fourth, and fifth.

Judy was studying him by the fifth slice. “Careful there, Nick. You shouldn’t overdo it.”

“I dunno what you’re talking about, Fluff.” He rubbed his satisfied belly and stood to take his plate to the sink. “Gonna relax on the couch for a few. I’ll do the dishes later.”

“Okay,” Judy said, still working on her single piece.

The fox eased into his cushy couch and allowed himself to slouch down. It didn’t take long for all of his energy to be diverted to digesting all that pie he stuffed himself with. Paws on his belly, Nick closed his eyes, taking a deep breath and allowed himself a content moment to relax.

Judy cleaned some cookware and put all the dishes into the sink before eventually coming around to join him, hopping up onto the couch effortlessly. She eyed his stomach before letting her eyes trek up to his face where he appeared to be breathing heavier, eyes closed and a very satisfied smug grin on his lowered snout.

“Someone’s in a food coma,” she teased. “Dumb fox. You never listen to me…” 

No comment.

“Nick?”

There was continued silence. Judy leaned over to wave her paw in front of his muzzle. Nick’s only reply was a deep breath followed by a light snore.

“You must’ve been really tired, huh?” the bunny whispered.

Looking down at her paws in her lap, Judy wondered if she should go grab a blanket and simply let Nick sleep. Her thought was interrupted when a heavy weight slid over and pressed against her head and shoulder. The bunny glanced over to see him leaning over her shoulder for support. Not daring to move, Judy tried to deduce if she could lower Nick to the cushion without waking him.

Before Judy could do anything, the sleeping fox slipped further and now his head lay completely in her lap. _Oh gosh. Okay… this is okay… really, no big deal…_ She was hesitant to move. Thankfully his snout was facing away from her. Judy stopped to stare at Nick’s muzzle, her nose twitching as she saw his lips slightly curled with a look of total contentment on his face. Being close enough to the armrest, the bunny leaned on a paw while smiling down. 

“Not tonight, I guess…” she huffed softly.

Continuing to watch her partner sleep for a long while, Judy observed how Nick’s ears flicked about. Temptation got the better of her and she slowly placed her right paw between them and began to gently caress his scalp fur. It was much thicker than a bunny’s fur but still very soft to the touch. Judy noticed an instinctive tail wag and a slight kick of his right leg that made her chuckle as she continued to run her fingers through his scruffy fur.

“Sweet dreams, Nick,” Judy said as she began to quietly hum a little lullaby, just letting time pass.

* * *

Nick stirred awake, his brain still hanging on to a few lucid images as they slowly disappeared from his mind one by one. The fox realized he must have zonked out at some point in the evening. _When did I fall asleep? I was eating pie with Judy and went to the couch and…_ The thought drifted away as he was way too warm and comfortable to care. 

A soft little song lingered on the edge of his mind. One he hadn’t heard for some time but the familiarly pushed him back into an eased state, allowing his subconscious to recall the source of the tune; a petite gray bunny he loved all too well. 

Then came the sensation that Judy was touching him, her silky paw running through his fur. The very idea caused him to smirk. _Boy, that’s a dream._ Must have eaten too much pie after all. With a small huff of air, Nick forced his eyes open; his nocturnal sight triggering in the dim living room. The apartment was enveloped in darkness with the exception of a small light from the kitchen area.

As his foxy brain became more alert, his eyes flicked to the entertainment center where a digital clock on his DVD player informed him that it was 4:27AM. _What!? Last time I saw the clock it was 5:09PM..._ If that wasn’t enough of a shock, his ‘pillow’ suddenly moved underneath him. Nick's eyes darted down to notice an all too familiar pair of black leggings under his cheek. Another subtle movement made him acutely aware of a small weight resting on top of his head. Almost too afraid to look around, Nick slowly twisted his neck to find his chin lying right across Judy’s thighs and her right paw between his ears. 

_Now wait a minute… oh boy… this is happening…_

Daring to glance up, he found the rest of Judy. His partner was completely asleep, twisted and leaning over the armrest with her cheek resting on her left arm, ears hanging over the side. The bunny’s chest raised in rhythm with her slow deep breaths. Nick watched as Judy shifted and her arm moved, dangling her right paw down between his eyes. 

With methodical and deliberate movements, Nick eased his limbs around while contorting his elongated torso, trying to find the best way to remove himself without disturbing Judy. Eventually he was able to separate and slowly slide his head out from under the bunny; catching her with his large paws so she wouldn’t slump forward. _Of course she’d sleep through it._

Nick gently scooped up his partner; cradling her in his arms as he tip-toed towards his bedroom.

“Couldn’t have it any other way, huh Fluff?” Nick whispered. “I can’t believe you stayed like that the whole time…” The soft words caused her ears to twitch as she nestled more deeply into his chest.

Reaching his destination, Nick gingerly lay Judy on the mattress and tucked her in. Before he could ease away, she tossed and turned a bit, aimlessly pawing about.

“Nick… don’t…” the bunny murmured. One paw managed to find his dangling tie and caught hold of it in a vice like grip, almost yanking Nick forward.

Catching himself on the edge of the bed with both paws, Nick watched as Judy rolled to her side, facing away from him, his tie still in her grasp.

“Great…” he chuckled.

Luckily, she didn’t yank him hard enough to cause him to choke or suffer a muscle pull. Nick carefully loosened the knot on his tie, slipping it over his head and let Judy claim it. He stood watching her curl into a ball for a few moments. “Don’t… go…” came another hushed mumbling.

Judy’s words made fresh waves of realizations hit him right in the muzzle.

“That wasn't a dream… was it?” the fox muttered to himself, eyes narrowing in contemplation. “Your paw was on my head and that lullaby… the one from the hotel… and just now you...”

Nick found himself looking down at the floor, paws in his pockets before his eyes returned to Judy. His gaze landed on his tie tightly clutched in her fists.

_What if you’re wrong, Wilde? Could you really let her just slip away?_

With a deep exhale, Nick peered at his nightstand. A notepad and pen was next to his alarm clock, still there where he had placed them while writing his thoughts about the dollhouse case. A renewed debate waged within Nick before a decisive glint finally flashed in his eyes and he reached for the pad, silently scribbling a note. Tearing it off and folding it, he left it standing upright on the edge of the nightstand, facing the sleeping bunny.

Stepping softly across the carpet, Nick grabbed his spare officer’s uniform and slipped back towards the bedroom door. Managing to close it without a peep, the fox glanced through the remaining slit at his partner with a genuine smile.

“Sleep tight, Judy,” Nick whispered, clicking the door shut.

* * *

The early morning sunshine poked through the blinds and landed on a pair of gray eyelids, causing Judy to flutter her eyes open and suddenly jolt upright, nose twitching. Despite her half groggy state, she was able to immediately identify her location. 

_This isn’t the couch!?_

“How did I end up…?” Judy looked around the room. “Nick?”

There was no reply. 

“Maybe he’s still on the couch sleeping… I’ll just go and...” Judy stopped mid-thought when she realized she was holding onto something in her paws.

Peering down, the bunny noticed that she was tightly gripping one of Nick’s ties; the special violet one he was wearing yesterday when he came home from work. She tilted her head in confusion. “Why do I have you?”

Judy shifted herself to the edge of the bed, carefully straightening the tie. As she leaned over to place it on the nightstand, the bunny noticed two things; first, it was 5:42AM and second, there was a folded note with her name on it. She grabbed the note and unfolded the small piece of paper.

“Hey, Sleeping Bunny. I’m going to work early. Call me when you wake up. -Nick” Judy read the message aloud.

 _He carried me in here like he always does…_ she thought with a smile. Judy hopped off the bed and headed into the living room, searching for her phone. She found it already plugged into a charger on the TV stand. If Nick had left some time ago, he should already be at the precinct. Taking a moment to pat down her ruffled bed fur, Judy tapped the MuzzleTime speed dial.

Nick’s smirking image appeared within just a single ring, already at his desk with his usual morning coffee. “Hey, it’s Officer Sunshine! I was wondering if you’d sleep in.”

Judy had been prepared to apologize for falling asleep but her partner’s irritable morning smug face immediately shifted her gears. “Well, I must have dialed the wrong number… the fox I know would still be in bed waging war against the snooze button on his alarm.”

“Madam, I’ll have you know I am the pinnacle of punctuality and responsibility,” he declared proudly.

Snorting at Nick’s cockiness, Judy walked out onto the patio, pretending to look east over the railing towards the rising sun.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking to see if Sahara Square froze over…”

The two partners shared a smile. Nick’s cocky expression softened, appearing to muse over his next words as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Hey Carrots, about last night… I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you like that…” Nick did his best to remain slick but his voice still came out uneven.

“Nick, don’t… it’s okay. I didn’t mind, really…” Judy interrupted, fighting a blush in the meantime before giving Nick a mischievous smirk. “Though next time, I’m writing you a restraining order on the number of slices you’re allowed to eat.”

The fox chuckled. “Hah! Duly noted, Officer Fluff.” The two shared another quiet moment. Looking at Judy’s smiling face, Nick took a breath. “Say, Carrots… are you… doing anything later today?”

“No. Why?” Judy curiously asked, ears twitching at the unsteadiness of Nick’s tone.

“After today’s shift, I have the next two days off. I… uh… thought we could go grab a bite to eat tonight. Just you and me.”

While they often ate out together, this particular invitation almost sounded like… _like a real date?_ It’s what Judy almost blurted out but luckily stopped herself in time. Reigning in her jumpy emotions, Judy decided to play coy, tapping her chin before returning an innocent gaze to Nick. “I think I’m _available…_ ” she said, laying it on rather thick. “What did you have in mind?”

Nick momentarily raised his brow, having to clear his throat before leaning an elbow against his chair’s armrest, forcing himself to remain confident. “I know a place. Real classy. You’ll like it.”

“What time should I be ready?” the bunny asked, biting her lip.

“Let’s do 7 o’clock. I’ll meet you at your place.”

“Okay, Nick.” Judy smiled excitedly.

“See you tonight, Fluff.” Nick winked with a little salute, ending the call.

Judy came back inside the apartment, a bit more pep in her step, closing the sliding door. She grasped her phone tightly while looking at the wallpaper photo. _Tonight… Yes! Tonight, I’ll tell him!_ Her plan renewed, Judy gathered her things, locked up the apartment and headed out. She had a few things to take care of before _the_ evening arrived.

As he hung up, Nick let out a huge contained nervous exhale, slumping back into his chair while drumming his nails against the armrests. It was a done deal. _No going back now, Wilde._ Now to get through his shift for the day. The fox officer turned back to his paperwork, as there was still some time before he would need to head into the bullpen to get his assignment for the day.

Luckily for Nick, he was graced with an uneventful day of patrolling Downtown. After dropping off the Hareraiser at the precinct vehicle lot, Nick finished his remaining paperwork and found himself outside in the mid-afternoon sun on the main steps to the ZPD, checking his smartphone. 

Nick brought the phone to his ear to make a call. _Should be open by now..._

“Good afternoon. Thank you for calling Meerkangelo’s. Joanna speaking, how may I assist you?” a pleasant female voice answered.

“Hello, Joanna. Is ol’ Spitfire Michelle in today?” Nick asked in his friendliest tone.

“She is, sir. May I ask who’s calling?”

“Tell her it’s Nick Wilde,” Nick said as he watched mammals coming and going near the town square’s fountain, paw in his pant’s pocket as he made his way south.

“One moment, sir. Please hold.”

After a moment of waiting, an older soft-spoken voice picked up the call. “Nicky! Long time no talk. Saw you in the papers the other day, you lil’ troublemaker!”

“Miche,” the officer smiled. “Been too long. Say darling, I know this is short notice but I was wondering if you could do me a real solid?”

“What’s in it for me, Big Red?” the voice teased.

“A lifetime supply of pawpsicles from Finnick and my undying gratitude?”

This earned him a chuckle. “What do you need?”

“Was looking for a table for two at eight o’clock tonight.”

“Done. Our finest table, just for you. _Special_ occasion?”

Nick scratched his neck again. “Yeah… you could say that. I owe you big.” 

“Don’t mention it, hun. I’ll be seeing you tonight.”

“Bye now!” Nick said with a grin.

Continuing his trek, Nick passed a few street vendors and happened to walk past the bunny vendor where he witnessed Phil swipe the blueberries in front of him. _That’s right. The blueberries._ The fox’s mind immediately flashed back to the berries from the care package and the pie Judy baked.

Phone still in paw, he brought it back up and dialed another number. A few rings later, an older gray rabbit with a gentle, motherly smile and a smaller bunny in her arms answered the call.

“Why Nicholas, it’s good to hear from you,” Bonnie greeted warmly. “Judy must have given you the blueberries I packed.”

“Mrs. Hopps,” Nick smiled back. “She sure did and let me tell you, delicious as always. I can’t ever thank you enough.”

“You’re very welcome, dear. You’ve caused quite the ruckus around here lately with being on the television so much. Is everything okay with you?”

“It is, it is. I hope I didn’t cause you too much trouble,” Nick said while wondering exactly what sort of ruckus Bonnie might be referring to.

“Not at all, in fact…” Bonnie stopped mid-sentence when another voice interrupted her in the background.

“Mommy, Mommy, Mommy! Is that Nick?” asked a small rambunctious pair of swiveling cream colored ears from below the camera’s view.

“Yes it is, Cotton. Now behave yourself, young lady,” the matriarch said as she lowered her phone.

Nick watched as a familiar teensy smiling face appeared, unable to control her excitement. “Hi!”

“Well, there’s my favorite little lady… just don’t tell your big sister that,” the fox greeted with a wink.

Cotton giggled. “Is Judy there too?”

“Actually, your sister’s probably at her home. Did you have fun playing with her while she was there?”

“Uh huh! I have my own partner now too!”

“You do? Who’s the lucky bunny?”

“He’s not a bunny, silly...“ Cotton exclaimed and suddenly held a fox plushie up high that she was holding off screen with a small badge sticker on it. “It’s him!”

The real fox officer blinked in surprise before returning a big smile to the small bunny. “That’s a cu––cool little plush you got there, Cotton.” _Whoopsie, almost said cute to a pair of bunnies._

“He was Judy’s! She gave him to me before she left!”

 _What?_ Nick had to stop on the side of the sidewalk; eyes wide and mouth agape, not knowing how to respond to that. _She had a fox plushie?_

Watching his expression, Bonnie leaned down over her little daughter, “Cotton. I’m sure Nicholas has a lot to do… say goodbye and go wash up for supper, hun.”

“Aww,” she pouted before turning back to the phone. “Okay, bye Nick!” And just like that she was gone like a carrot-powered little rocket.

Nick managed a small paw wave before regaining his focus and turning his attention back to Bonnie. “I hope you don’t mind her, Nicholas. She can be a little pawful, that one.”

“Not at all, Mrs. Hopps,” he reassured. “She does remind me of a certain bunny I know…”

Bonnie tilted her head with a nose twitch. “How is my girl? She happy to be back in the city?”

The two previous nights flashed through Nick’s brain, causing him to turn red under his fur. He often thanked god for having matching fur color to hide such uncontrollable reactions. “Yeah… she’s been doing swell. We spent a little bit of time together between my shifts,” he replied, failing to keep a steady voice.

“I’m glad to hear it.”

With a quick clear of his throat, Nick calmed himself. Despite feeling a little nervous, he put on his best smile as something came to mind. “Speaking of Judy, Mrs. Hopps… there is something I’d like to ask you.”

“Certainly, dear. What would you like to know?” Bonnie asked with an inviting smile.

* * *

The little orange rectangular dual mode alarm clock radio read 6:42PM. 

Judy was nearly finished with getting ready. She was bouncing on her toes, standing in front of her full body mirror while tugging at the collar of her shirt. The bunny had spent the later part of the afternoon trying on different tops from her cabinet rack. 

_Ugh. Why am I so nervous? What would Nick even think if he saw me like this? Probably give me some spiel about dating 101 if it wasn’t the two of us…_

Thoughts of whatever advice he might possibly come up with gave Judy a chuckle. Taking a deep breath helped to calm herself a little bit. She finally decided to settle on a black off-the-shoulder top with bell sleeves and a nice high-low hem that she purchased before her trip, pairing it with a light blue skirt. Giving herself one last one-over, her right ear swiveled up to the sound of a recognizable set of footsteps in the hallway followed by a playful knock on the door. Only one sly mammal she knew had such a dorky knock.

Binkying to the door, Judy took a moment to breath again before swinging it open to find a dapper red fox leaning against the door frame with one arm, while keeping the other behind his back. Nick was wearing his favorite slate vest and pants, collared shirt with rolled up sleeves and the violet tie.

They both inspected one another from head to toe before Nick broke the ice. “Hey, miss. We meet again.”

It reminded her of the night she went to meet Nick’s mom for the first time. “Hello again, sir. I see you didn’t get lost this time.”

“Sure didn’t. May I come in?” he leaned forward with his paw, the tiniest hint of nervousness in his voice.

Judy stepped to the side to let Nick enter, the fox making sure to keep his back turned. The bunny eyed him suspiciously. Her nose began to twitch; as there was an undeniable fresh earthy scent surrounding her partner. “Nick… are you _hiding_ something?”

“Nothing gets by you, does it, Officer Hopps?” The fox scratched his neck with his free paw; forcing his voice to remain even. “I… um… wanted to give you these… for the pie…”

Nick finally presented his hidden paw; revealing a lavish bouquet of assorted pink, red, blue, and purple flowers. 

The reaction was instantaneous. Judy’s ears plummeted as paws flew to cover her mouth, a vocal gasp escaping through her fingers as her eyes became as wide as saucers. She was frozen long enough that Nick wondered if this was a bad idea, or if he maybe had accidentally broken his partner, and was about to speak up again before Judy cut him off.

“Oh, Nick…” Judy dashed towards him, crushing him in one of her strongest bunny hugs he had ever felt. The fox stiffened like a wooden board, feeling like his feet left the floor from the impact. Nick fumbled to make sure he didn’t accidently drop the flowers as he wrapped one paw around Judy’s back.

“I take it you like them, Carrots?” he asked with an anxious tone.

Collecting herself, Judy let go and took the bouquet. She brought it up to her nose and deeply inhaled the wondrous floral fragrances. No one had ever given her flowers before. “I do. How did you know that _paeonia suffruticosa, platycodon grandiflorus, papaver nudicaule, and lupinus & russell hybrids_ are my favorites?”

The fox’s previous expression turned to immediate amusement. “A _Wilde_ guess, I’d imagine…” Putting his paws behind his back, Nick’s half-smirk gave away how pleased he appeared with himself.

Judy blinked, her police mind not buying her partner’s cryptic answer.

“And just so you know…” Nick interrupted her musing, “Us common city folk happen to call those tree peonies, balloon flowers, poppies, and lupines, you botanist bunny.”

Playfully shaking her head, Judy filed her thought away for later while ignoring Nick’s jab. She closed her eyes with a smile and taking another deep inhale of the flowers’ fragrance. Deciding to remain quiet, Nick watched Judy begin to paw through the bouquet and meticulously pull out a red poppy. Nothing prepared him for what he was about to witness next, as Judy opened her mouth and nibbled a petal off the flower, slowly chewing to savor it before plucking off petal after petal until the flower was gone.

 _What is she doing?_ Jaw to the floor and brow up, Nick’s bulging eyes followed her paw as Judy blissfully ignored him, plucking a purple balloon flower, then a pink tree peony; indulging both before fishing out a bluish lupine, saving her most favorite flower of the bouquet for last. 

Judy eyed the lupine with hungry eyes. She was so tempted to break her plan and say something right now. _I can’t believe he got me these flowers…_ The bunny opened wide and slowly enjoyed the elongated flower like a popsicle treat before biting off the top half. 

Tugging on his collar… _Is it hot in here?_ Nick’s paw searched for something, _anything_ , to lean against and keep his balance. “So, uh…” Nick hesitantly began, causing Judy to stop mid-chew to look at him, realizing she got caught up in her moment. “If I had known I might spoil dinner, I would’ve planned on us going somewhere else…” he smiled trying to play off his unease.

Snapping out of it, Judy swallowed her cheekful of lupine. “What? Oh...“ she chuckled nervously. “Guess you’ve never given a bunny girl flowers before, huh?”

“You’d be the first and only, Carrots.” Nick crossed his arms, leaning his body against her cabinet.

 _Oh fiddlesticks. He wouldn’t know about this._ Judy raised the bouquet over her muzzle as if to try and hide behind it to cover her twitchy nose and intense blushing while also brushing her ears back. “Well… it’s a bit of tradition to eat the flowers of someone special… like…”

“Like your partner, huh?” Nick interjected.

“Right… partner…“ Judy glanced away, inwardly sighing. She took a quick breath. “And I won’t spoil my dinner, silly fox. I just wanted to try each one…”

“Is that right?” Nick walked closer and picked out a small blue lupine. “This one looked like your favorite.”

“Was it that obvious?” Judy asked. “What are you gonna…?”

With a flick of his wrist, Nick laced a portion of the lupine into his lapel and smiled for Judy. 

Smiling back, she gently tapped his arm at the gesture. “Sly fox. Now I need to find something to put these in.”

“Ugh,” Nick slapped himself. “I should’ve thought of that.”

“It’s okay!” Judy exclaimed hopping past him, heading out the door to catch a breather away from the heat she had been feeling steadily building up inside the room. 

The bunny rounded the corner and proceeded to knock on her neighbor’s door. A confrontational kudu opened the door, looking down. 

“Yeah? What do you want, bunny? We’re being quiet,” Bucky stated despite the fact that he was firmly cowering behind the door, ready to run at a moment’s notice.

“Hi! I was just wondering if you guys might have a vase I could borrow?” Judy gleefully asked with a tiny binky.

“Hurry up and do what she says!” Pronk yelled from their living room.

“Will you shut up? I’m getting to it!” Bucky shouted back as he went inside the room.

“No, you shut up!”

“You shut up!”

After some noisy fumbling, Bucky returned with a red vase. “Here,” he drawled while handing it to Judy.

“Thank you!” she smiled while accepting it.

Nick had stepped outside as the door was slammed behind her and several lock bolts could be heard being fastened.

“What was that all about?”

“Oh nothing… nothing at all.” Judy mischievously smirked, memories of pillows and fulfilled revenge satisfying her mind. “Let me get some water and we can go.”

The fox leaned against the hallway wall while Judy ran down to the communal bathroom area, filled the vase and jogged back. Placing the flowers inside and on her desk, she was all set to go; locking her apartment door being the final step before she turned to face her partner.

“C’mon, let’s go!” Judy exclaimed. 

With anxious smiles, the fox and bunny walked down the hallway, heading towards the stairs. Behind them a door opened to a slit as a pair of kudu and oryx eyes watched their departure.

“I didn’t know she was with a fox,” Pronk whispered.

“I told you he sounded too smooth to be a rabbit,” Bucky snorted.

“Yeah, well you thought he was a beaver,” Pronk shot back.

“I did not!”

“Oh, shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

“Shut your mouth!”

* * *

Soon Nick and Judy were on the subway heading east. Nick was being rather tight-lipped about where they were headed, deflecting Judy’s every attempt to find out. Normally not one to give up, Judy, however, let it go and gazed outside the window as they entered Sahara Square, the train taking a turn south, away from the Palm Hotel and towards the Beach Promenade.

Arriving at their destination, the duo walked a short distance and entered the Meerkat Marketplace. By day it flourished as a busy market of street vendors; by night it transformed into a colorfully lit entertainment scene of music and food. Judy absorbed all the sights, feeling even more thrilled with the energetic nightlife that bustled about around them. Making their way through the crowds, they arrived at the outer marketplace square dotted with beach facing restaurants. 

Nick led Judy up the stairs of a posh looking establishment named Meerkangelo’s. Holding the door open for her, they entered the crowded, main hostess area where numerous couples were waiting to be seated. Judging by the patrons, Judy noticed the restaurant catered exclusively to smaller sized mammals, a relief after one of their after work dinners had nearly ended in disaster when the server forgot he had placed them in an elephant sized booth, leading a pair of pachyderms to almost sit on them at the assumed ‘unoccupied’ table.

Judy’s ear perked towards the reception area where a meerkat hostess was greeting another couple who walked in ahead of them, informing the two beavers that the current wait was an hour and a half.

The bunny tugged on her partner’s sleeve, the announcement from the employee shocking her. “Nick. The wait is _ninety_ minutes! Are you sure you want to wait that long? We could just go over to...”

Interrupted by his trademark grin, Judy trailed off as Nick leaned down with a confident wink. “Don’t worry, Carrots.”

They walked up to the desk, Judy eyeing Nick from head to toe suspiciously as her partner leaned against the counter, wondering what trick he might have up his foxy sleeve or who he would try to hustle in order to beat the wait time.

“Good evening, welcome to Meerkangelo’s. How may I help you?” the hostess greeted.

Nick's eyes flicked to her name badge. “Hello, Joanna. We spoke earlier. Nick Wilde, party of two,” he said with a charming smile and holding up two fingers.

Checking the reservation list, the meerkat cheerfully smiled back. “Of course, Mr. Wilde. Your table is ready. Right this way, please.”

Tucking two menus into her arms, Joanna stepped out, ready to guide them to their table.

“After you, Fluff.” Nick gestured.

“Hmm. Let me guess…” Judy leaned closer.

“Know everybody? You betcha,” Nick said following with paws behind his back.

Joanna led them to the south-facing outdoor patio where several types of special booths were chiseled into the unique smooth stone formations swirling with muted reds and dark oranges; classic colors of the Saharan biome. They reached a curvy and plush booth-style seat raised high above the other seats giving them a perfect view of the evening sky and a panoramic vista of the marketplace and distant shores.

The hostess removed a reserved note and lit a candle in the middle, motioning for her guests to take their seats. Judy hopped up and slid in with Nick scooting in behind her. The table was set and Joanna informed the two that their server would be with them shortly.

Unable to contain her fervor, Judy’s eyes darted everywhere, taking everything in as Nick watched her in silent amusement. Dimly lit old-style lanterns sitting in small carved nooks provided a rather romantic atmosphere as a small band played easy-listening music from a central stage below.

“Oh my gosh, Nick… this is so different!” Judy declared, fidgeting joyfully in her seat. 

“Like an above ground meerkat manor,” Nick said leaning an arm across the table. “Told you, you’d like it.”

“Hello!” Nick and Judy turned to see their server arrive, a slim mongoose in all black with a friendly voice. “My name is Regina and I will be taking care of you tonight! May I start you off with any drinks or appetizers?”

The fox and bunny exchanged a glance. A little liquid courage never sounded better to Nick right about now. “Actually Regina, a drink sounds perfect. What do you say, Carrots?”

Leaning in again, Judy whispered up to Nick’s ear. “Are you sure, Nick? Wouldn’t it be a little pricey… I mean, I don’t have to drink…”

“Ma’am the first round is on the house,” Regina said. “Courtesy of the owner, Michelle.”

Not missing a beat, before Judy could speak, Nick jumped right on the gesture. “Well now… can’t be rude to the owner, right?” He turned to his partner, gesturing with an open paw. “I do believe the lady will enjoy a kiwi and mint Tomcat Collins.”

Impressed that Nick remembered the drink from their night out with Brian and Valerie, Judy decided to play along and live a little. “And the gentlemammal will have a Stella Argalis.”

“Wonderful! I’ll be right back,” Regina smiled and disappeared.

Nick leaned into the cushions of the booth. “You know me too well, Officer Fluff.”

“That’s because I have to put up with you all day, _everyday_ , Officer Wilde.”

“Madam, I am the _perfect_ partner,” Nick said in dramatic anguish.

“ _Perfectly_ insufferable,” Judy replied with half-lidded eyes.

Snickering at the return of their comfortable ribbing, the drinks arrived along with a basket of various breads and two glasses of water. The two grabbed their respective drink, Nick held up his chilled mug as a toast.

“Cheers, Carrots.”

“To your first big case, Slick,” Judy whispered, voice full of pride.

Their glasses clinked, fox and bunny enjoying the gaze they exchanged more than the refreshments they sipped. Regina returned, ready to inform them about the restaurant’s exquisite menu.

Glancing between the two happy mammals, Regina waited for the moment to pass before waving to get their attention. “Are you two ready to hear about the Chef’s specials?”

“Absolutely. What’s on the menu tonight?” Nick grinned.

Regina happily shared several special plates available for the evening, starting with a Sahara Tabouli to an Eggplant Parmesan before describing the Wine-braised Lentils with Cricket Sausage, and the Mozzarella Arepas with Summer Veggies.

Mouths already watering at the sound of those delicious entrees, Nick and Judy agreed to forgo the main menu and ordered from the specials; Judy taking the tabouli salad while Nick ordered the cricket sausage. Regina departed with their order and left the two with some privacy.

Judy nibbled on some toasted bread, looking out to the nightly bustle of the marketplace. Nick moved a little closer, beer glass in paw, to get the bunny’s attention.

“Do anything special today?” he asked.

Perking up at the sound of his voice, Judy turned to face Nick directly. “Oh… I saw Brian and Valerie! I think I’ve finally found another mammal become as excited as you when I gave him the blueberries. Brian was really happy for your case too.”

“Nose is a good guy.”

“I still can’t believe you never shared any blueberries with him when you two were classmates…” she gently nudged Nick’s side.

“All’s fair in love and cards, sweetheart,” Nick boasted while taking a sip of his beer.

His use of sweetheart never fazed her before, but tonight it made Judy feel a little more special. She eyed her partner, daring a little what-if scenario. “If we had been classmates and you got them elsewhere, would you have shared them with _me_?” Judy asked with a rather thick tone.

Nearly swallowing the beer down the wrong pipe, Nick recovered quickly, pretending like nothing happened. Leaning on an elbow, he mischievously smirked directly at Judy. “Yes.”

“Really?” Naturally Judy wanted to hear a yes but she was rather surprised how extra nonchalant his answer was. 

“Because I know you’d find some way to hustle them out of me, sly bunny,” Nick stated rather matter-of-factly with a wink.

Opening her mouth to counter, Judy pointed at Nick before pausing. She playfully glared at him. “Fine. I’ll give you that one. At least you admit that I’d find a way.”

Nick clinked his glass against her’s and finished his drink. He scooted away and carefully slid down the rock surface from their raised table. “Be right back.”

“Already, Nick? And you tell me I have a tiny bladder…” Judy teased.

“I’ll have you know I camped out all night in a bush. Twice,” he smirked. “We’ll see who buckles first on our next stakeout.”

Watching his bushy tail disappear around the rocky base, Judy was left with her thoughts; ears twisting to listen to the band down below. Judy rested her chin on both paws smiling at the fun they were having tonight as her mind drifted back to the flowers. How did Slick Nick manage to pick out that particular floral arrangement? The bunny was tapping a finger to her chin when her eyes caught a glimpse of red fur approaching the stage from the side.

As the band finished their song, Judy watched as Nick huddled with the lead singer, being quite adamant with his gestures before both mammals came to an agreement and nodded at one another. The fox slipped him a tip before leaving with a smug grin as he sauntered back out of sight.

“Sly fox…” Judy whispered to herself before making a connection. A wave of warmth passing through her that wasn’t the alcohol. “Wait… if he did what I think he just did…”

“Miss me?”

The bunny nearly started as her partner was already scooting back next to her, derailing Judy’s speculation.

“Bout as much as I miss soggy and shriveled carrots,” she shot back for scaring her.

“Ouch.” Nick mockingly rubbed his heart. “Well, I don’t know how you eat those crappy TV dinners.”

“You eat crappy TV dinners too!” she pointed at him.

“Yeah but I’m lazy. What’s your excuse?”

“I’ll have you know...”

Judy stopped when two servers appeared with a tray of their meals, alongside Regina who served each plate.

“Sahara Tabouli for you, ma’am. And the Wine-braised Lentils with Cricket Sausage for the gentlemammal. Would you like anything else? More drinks?” Regina asked.

Exchanging a quick glance and nods, Nick turned to the server. “I think we’re good. Thank you, Regina!”

The mongoose lightly bowed and left to check on another table.

Nick pointed to the tabouli with a fork. “Mean looking salad you got there, Carrots.”

Judy inhaled the scent of the sweet fresh greens and offered her plate. “Try some?”

Poking it with his fork, Nick took a small bite. “Not too shabby… for greens.” This earned him a little shove. He proceeded to cut a morsel of his entree and present it to Judy. “I know you don’t normally eat this kind of food but... it’d be rude of me to not offer,” the fox smiled.

Judy stared at the piece of cricket sausage in front of her causing her nose to twitch at the steamy aroma of the grilled morsel.

“There’s no shame in _not_ trying everything,” Nick teased, dangling the fork just outside of her lips. 

That foxy dare was all it took. Just as he was retreating the offer, Judy snapped forward and took the bite. With equally wide eyes, the two stared at each other as Nick gently removed the fork from Judy’s mouth. The bunny chewed the food painstakingly slowly while maintaining direct eye contact. Judy turned away from Nick, paws over her mouth with drooping ears as she reluctantly swallowed. 

Finding himself a little bit shocked, yet not really, a smug grin formed on the fox’s muzzle. “Well now… so how did it…”

“IthinkIIikeit,” came a short mumbling admission.

“Come again?” Nick mockingly leaned over, his right ear perked, cupping a paw next to it.

“I said... I. Think. I. Like. It.” Judy admitted in a hushed voice. The bunny twirled around, latching onto his arm with both paws, nearly knocking the fork out of his paw. “Is that weird? Oh mouldy peaches… does that make me weird!?”

“Judy…” This caught her attention. “You’re not weird. It’s not like you’re eating meat or anything. It’s _just_ bugs. Honestly, who knows if it’s mostly paste with what they probably mix in with this stuff.”

Seeing the bunny calm down and release his arm, Nick excitedly cut himself a nice juicy piece. “Bon appetit!” The fox stopped halfway, mouth wide open when he saw Judy watching him from the corner of his eye.

“Can… I try one more?” 

Nick backed the morsel out of his mouth and cocked an eyebrow, blankly staring at her, then at the piece of cricket sausage, and back to Judy. Her eyes were zeroed in on the food, then flicked up to search his. An amused smirk appeared on his face. “Should we trade?” he asked wiggling his eyebrows.

“No.” She narrowed her eyes a little bit. “And don’t judge me…”

“Perish the thought.” Nick planted his chin on his left paw, flashing a toothy grin while twisting his wrist sideways so the fork was pointing back to Judy.

Taking one more piece of Nick’s dish, the two dug into their respective plates and ate in comfortable silence. As the meal went on, Judy scooted closer. Their feet would occasionally brush, causing a small burst of foot tag, before stopping and then beginning anew a few moments later.

In record time the plates were emptied and the two content mammals slouched into the cushions, bellies happily full. Nick leaned an arm out against the cushions, crossing a leg and looked over to the band. He appeared to be intently gazing upon the lead singer. Judy slid closer so she could watch and listen better while closing the gap between them. She spied Nick making eye contact with the meerkat. When the next song finished, Nick scratched his left ear with a single finger and gave it a little tug.

It looked like the meerkat nodded and prepared the band for their next song. They began to play a nice classic rendition of ‘Just the Way You Are’ by Billygoat Joel. The bunny’s mouth pursed, peering up at Nick who was bobbing his head slightly to the song with a small curl of his lips. 

Nick felt the brush of soft ear tips against his arm, then a soft warmth press against him when Judy came closer, peeking past him to watch the performance. Keeping his cool, he snuck a glance down only to meet her eyes and a soft smile. Smiling back for her, he shifted his position to accommodate Judy as she nestled closer, her head gently resting against his side as the two quietly listened to the rest of the song. 

Judy could feel Nick’s strong heartbeat. It was much slower than a rabbit’s. As the song neared its end, she wondered if her partner didn’t think she realized this song was intended for her. _He’s been a little different since yesterday. What if he feels the same way as me?_ The bunny’s train of thought was making her feel even more anxious about tonight.

When it ended, a small round of applause could be heard from a few patrons. Nick and Judy sunk a little deeper into the plush cushions. 

“I like that song,” Judy whispered, looking up to Nick.

“It’s a classic,” he replied before glancing down.

A shuffle of feet coming closer drew their attention away from each other as they saw an older meerkat appear, dressed in a sharp dark business suit, glasses, and a pleased half-smile, clasping her paws by her waist.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything…” came the surprisingly husky voice.

“Hey, Miche. I was wondering when you’d stop by,” Nick said, shifting himself to face his old acquaintance. 

“How could I not come say hi to my favorite silvery-tongued troublemaker?” she playfully gestured. “Are you gonna introduce me to your pretty date or just sit there like a stump?”

The two mammals blushed and shared a quick glance, before Nick managed to find his voice. “Ah, yes… darling, I’d like you to meet Judy Hopps. Judy, this is Michelle Selmy, the owner of this fine establishment and one spitfire of an entrepreneur.”

“Hi, nice to meet you.” Judy waved. “I love your restaurant!”

“ _The_ Judy Hopps? I thought I recognized you! So you two work together? How sweet,” Michelle gushed. “And thank you, honey. Big Red here actually helped me get it started. I always told him he had a good scent for business.”

“Oh, really?” Judy tilted her head curiously at Nick.

“Too kind… but you’re the one who got it off the ground,” Nick pointed out. “Just my two _cents._ ”

The meerkat rolled her eyes while Judy tapped Nick under the table with her foot. “I hope Judy doesn’t have to put up with that all the time.”

“Everyday!” Judy exclaimed.

“Good to see nothing’s changed,” Michelle mused.

“Alright, ladies. No ganging up on the poor innocent fox,” he mockingly glared at the meerkat, then the bunny, who just smiled back.

Looking at the cute couple, Michelle extended her paw. “Gimme your phone, Nicky. We should get a nice picture of the two of you.”

“That’s a great idea, Nick!” Judy added, bouncing in her seat slightly from her excitement.

“Okay. Don’t have to twist my tail.” Nick handed over his phone as he wasn’t going to argue with the two ladies.

“Now get in real close you two…” Michelle said, bringing up the phone.

Nick moved his paw to make room for Judy who scooted over. Giving in to her growing desire, Judy brushed both ears back, then wrapped her paws around Nick’s neck and leaned in under his cheek. Not fighting the urge, Nick let his paw glide over to the small of her back and offered his best award winning smile to the camera.

“Absolutely precious,” Michelle sang, tapping the camera button.

Slowly moving his paw up, Nick managed to sneak in two fingers, giving Judy another pair of rabbit ears at the last snapshot.

Judy’s bunny sense tingled but it was too late. “Nick! You keep doing that!” she blurted out before assaulting his torso with some soft jabs under the table.

“Stop, stop, stop…” Nick chuckled, attempting to put up a guard by hugging himself.

Finding himself in a losing battle, Nick was saved by an amused throat clearing, halting Judy’s attack. Michelle simply stood there, snapping one more photo, looking rather pleased with herself. “I think you’ll be pleased…”

Taking his phone back, Nick shot Judy a side-glance as she stepped away from him, shooting him a brief death glare in return.

Holding up the phone so Judy could see, Nick began to flick through them. Michelle managed to capture the full spectrum of a cute pose devolving into their physical horseplay.

“Good shots. You’re a natural, Miche.”

“These are wonderful, Michelle!” Judy said, returning to Nick’s side. “Thank you so much.”

“You’re very welcome, Judy. I’m glad to see Nicky here finally find himself a nice girl to make him honest,” the meerkat teased.

Still sitting quite close together, the two shared another glance, before Nick went to deflect with a bit of humor. “You could say Judy here has strong powers of _persuasion_.”

The bunny raised her brow and crossed her arms in retaliation. “Someone had to _hustle_ you in the _right_ direction.”

With a hearty chuckle, Michelle excused herself. “I’ll leave you be. Nicky, order whatever you two like. It’s on me.”

“What? Now wait a minute, Miche. I told you last time, I’d pay you back and cover my next meal.”

“Pish posh. Judy, help a fellow gal out?” Michelle said, not budging an inch.

“What was it you said, Nick?” Judy said in a soft mocking voice. “Can’t be rude to the owner, right?”

“Fine. You win this time, Miche.” Nick huffed as he pointed a finger at the older meerkat.

“I’ll let Regina know,” Michelle sing-songed. “It was nice meeting you, Judy!”

“You too, bye!” Judy waved as the owner slinked away to greet more of her patrons. The bunny turned to her partner. “I like her.”

Regina then appeared with a dessert menu. “Would you two be ready for some dessert tonight?”

Nick leaned over to whisper in Judy’s ear. “Say Carrots, I wasn’t expecting to get a free meal and I was thinking we’d go out to the square. I know this nice little ice cream vendor you’d really like. What do you say?”

Agreeing not to take too much advantage of Michelle’s hospitality, Judy nodded. “Okay, Nick.”

Turning back to their cheery server, Nick leaned an elbow on the table. “Actually sweetheart, the bill would be fine, if you please. By the way, did I tell you how great the service is here?”

“Sorry, Mr. Wilde. My boss already told me not to give you the bill or give in to your charms,” the mongoose winked. “If you need anything else, please holler.” With that, Regina vanished, leaving Nick with a half-frown on his face.

Judy was giggling next to him and leaned over. “Can’t talk your way out of this one, Slick.”

Regardless, Nick already had his wallet out, rolling out crisp bills onto the table. “Joke’s on them. I know how much everything here costs.”

“Then let me pay half!” Judy said, reaching for her wallet.

“No,” the fox shushed her. Judy glared at him. “Let me have this one, Fluff. You can get the ice cream. How’s that?”

Softening into a smile at Nick’s generosity, Judy ceased. “Okay. Deal.”

Easing back into the cushions, they listened to a few more songs before heading out.

* * *

Making their way through the Meerkat Marketplace, Nick gave Judy the grand tour as they walked closely together from one end to the other. Crowds of mammals bustled about, listening to music, socializing at the various cafe-style tables, while treating themselves to the various local comfort foods and sweets.

Soon, they found themselves in a line for Wily Willy’s Creamery Cart. The older gruff addax made homemade ice cream daily and sold it in the evening with his family. As they got closer, Nick noticed Judy give out a little ‘eep’ in anticipation. It always brought a smile to his face watching her become genuinely excited even over the simpler things in life. When it was their turn, Judy found herself staring at the dozen organic flavors, wanting to get a scoop of each one.

Holding up the line, she eventually settled on a trio of vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry on a waffle cone. Nick went with a fruitier option of just strawberry and raspberry. Wily handed Nick the ice cream while Judy paid.

“Yowzers!” Judy said, gawking at the size of the scoops as Nick handed the bunny her order.

“Good thing you can eat like a…”

“Don’t even…” came the warning growl.

“... a bunny.” Nick smirked. “What did _you_ think I was gonna say?”

“Don’t play coy with me, Slick.” Judy said, then turned to her ice cream and took a big bite. Reaching up to grab Nick’s tie, she guided him back to the north side of the marketplace. “C’mon, let’s keep walking around.”

“What the…” Nick yelped, nearly smashing his snout into his two scoops as he was lurched forward.

The duo sauntered around, continuing to head north. As the evening progressed, Nick eventually guided Judy to the nearby Mile Square Park. They sat down on a nice remote empty wooden bench, eating their ice cream and sitting close together. Off in the distance, they could see the elevated railway as a train traveled by, passing the giant palm monument of the Palm Hotel & Casino with its colorful spotlights lighting up the clouds in the night sky. The bright lights of Downtown could be seen behind the hotel, painting a panoramic and picturesque cityscape.

Judy finished her ice cream first, looking over at Nick who was chomping the last of his waffle cone. Gazing back to the city lights, she couldn’t imagine being with anyone else but with this sly fox sitting next to her. The bunny allowed her head to gently land against his torso. To her surprise, Nick shifted his arm that was lying against the top of the bench and placed it around her bare shoulder, the warmth of his paw pads giving Judy a welcoming comfort.

The bunny’s eyes remained forward. Watching other mammals pass by. It reminded her of their first day together as partners in the ZPD. It wasn’t terribly long ago but it already felt like a lifetime, and one that she wouldn’t trade for anything else.

_I should say it. I want to say it here._

As if reading her mind, Nick broke Judy’s reverie when he spoke up, voice smooth and soft against the warm desert breeze. “Reminds me of our first day at work.”

Smiling, Judy whispered back. “It does. Except this time we don’t have to run off to catch a street-racing sloth.”

“Flash is one fast animal,” Nick joked.

Stifling a giggle, Judy peered at Nick. “Are you still taking extra driving lessons from him?”

“Not lately,” Nick said. “But maybe I wouldn’t need to if a certain bunny would let me drive more often. Me and the Hareraiser have formed a special bond while you were gone.”

“Stop calling her that!” Judy poked him. “And I better not find any spray painted artwork on her or funny smells inside when I get back.”

“Madam, I’ll have you know...” Nick began with a theatrical hurt expression, “That I took perfect care of the ol’ gal while you were gone.”

“Good.” Judy smiled, closing her eyes. She brought her legs up near her chest and leaned back into Nick, nestling herself underneath his arm.

Shifting her position caused Nick’s paw to slip off her shoulder and fall into the warmth of her lap. Sensing where it landed, Nick was ready to move it until Judy placed both her paws over it, trapping his paw against her waist.

Taking a breath, Nick smiled while adjusting his tie with his other paw, trying to ignore the pounding of his heart. “So… Carrots. You haven’t told me how the rest of your vacation went before you came home.”

The question caused Judy to momentarily tense up as memories flashed of Violet bringing forth evidence of her own surfacing feelings and her realization when she chinned her little fox plushie…

“Oh… you know, just family and farming stuff… you wouldn’t be that interested in it…” Judy fidgeted.

“Tell me, Judy.”

Naturally, Nick’s use of her name gave Judy pause while also easing her mind. She did her best to calm herself against the bubbling anxiety. _Okay, I’ll just leave out a few parts._ “Well… my sister, Violet, and her partner, Cecilia came to visit for a few days.”

Nick mused over the names. He remembered Judy telling him that Violet designed the wedding invitations and picked out the outfits for the rabbits to wear. “Partner, you say? Like business or…?”

“Both,” Judy said craning her neck back to look Nick in the eyes to gauge his reaction.

“Both...” Nick repeated, gazing down intently at Judy, his soft breath tickling her hanging ears. “Sounds like two lucky mammals.”

Judy could feel Nick’s much larger paw curl into her tiny waist, the blunt part of his claws sending a tingling wave of sensation right through her whole body. “I think so…” Judy's breath hitched and her words trailed to a murmur as she looked up to see Nick staring at her directly, "too..."

Remaining silent, Nick simply stared into those large beaming purple eyes, as the way the park’s colorful lamps lit them up hypnotized him. She didn’t move away from him, even when he had instinctively caressed her side with his paw. Their closeness reminded him of how they sat next to each other on Judy’s bed, sharing a meal, catching up, and just being together; how truly and blissfully _happy_ he felt when she came back home…

The way Nick continued to look into her eyes, caused Judy to reposition their paws out from between them, sitting upright again but not letting go. Instinct and desire took over when his thumb pad gently caressed the top of her petite paw, brushing through the soft velvety gray fur, feeling her grip intensify. A moment of heavy breathing passed before either of them spoke up again.

“Nick... I…”

“Judy, there’s…”

They halted as they accidentally spoke over each other, exchanging nervous chuckles. For a brief moment, their eyes scanned one another. Judy’s nose twitched while Nick scratched the back of his scruffy neck.

“Normally, I’d say lady’s first but there’s something I want to tell you,” Nick spoke softly yet clearly.

Judy waited with expectant eyes, her entire lithe body bristling in anticipation. “Okay.”

"You see... there's been something I've wanted to tell you for awhile..." Nick stammered. "And I... was afraid to say it... because I... was afraid to lose everything that we have... but I can't stop how I feel..." Nick paused to take a breath and try to calm himself. "I... I..."

“Love you…” Judy whispered. Her words caused Nick to freeze, eyes snapping bewilderingly wide at the bunny as if he didn’t hear her correctly.

_Did she just say…?_

“I love you,” Judy repeated, her claws began to lightly dig into his paw, almost breaking the skin under his fur. “Nick, I love you…”

His brain finally recovering from the shock, Nick smiled… the same genuine smile he gave Judy when she asked him to be her partner; when he had forgiven her under the bridge; when he stood on the graduation deck, saluting her after she proudly pinned his badge; when he posed with her for their favorite photo; and now as that same bunny just told him that she loved him before he could…

Nick’s short stunned silence was causing some anxiety to build within Judy. She was visibly breathing harder, her bunny heart racing at full-throttle. Regaining his focus, the fox reached out with his other paw to cup her right cheek. The tender gesture calmed Judy as she leaned into his leathery warm paw pads, releasing one paw to place it on top of the one on her cheek.

“I love you too, Judy,” Nick finally answered back, voice thick with inflection.

Not knowing what to do next, Judy inched closer, her eyes never breaking contact while continuing to hold both of his paws tightly and smiling sweetly and nervously.

Another realization hit Nick as they shared this quiet moment. “When you came home early… is this why you…?”

The bunny’s response was an anxious chuckle and a wiggle of her right paw’s petite fingers. “ _Quixotry._ ”

The word smacked Nick right in the brain like a clean hook, harking back to this very same moment like today, all those months ago. He couldn’t help but close his eyes and chuckle to himself.

“Sly bunny.”

Raising his arms from Judy’s grasp, Nick opened them wider in an invitation that welcomed Judy as she scooted in for a longing embrace. Large paws wrapped around the small of her back, enveloping her in a comfortable warmth while small paws stroked the scruffy neck fur that always puffed out from his collared shirts, digging in to gently caress the skin underneath. Judy buried her head into the crook of Nick’s fluffy neck. The two remained that way for several long moments.

Nick traced a few fingers down her long velvety ears. He could've sworn he heard her elicit a purr-like breath. It felt _so_ good that Judy stirred and briefly separated. Her half-lidded eyes fluttered in a deeply amorous gaze. She drew forward again ever so slightly.

Experience recognized the subtle movement, the hint of intention in her glistening eyes, the barely visible quiver in her tiny lips. Nick returned her gaze, shifting himself on the bench, and edged forward too. Their eager breathes began to mix as they both closed their eyes in anticipation, only to be greeted with a small setback as the fox and the bunny misjudged the differences of their muzzle lengths and ended up leaning into a wet nose boop.

With eyes open again, they shared a snicker at their silly blooper. Judy was certainly one to never give up easily. She immediately closed the gap again, lidded eyes remaining open just a moment longer as the bunny craned her neck in the appropriate direction this time. Their parted lips brushed against one another on their second attempt and softly pressed together.

Neither mammal knew what to expect. As the kiss began, Judy found herself in a whole different world of sensation. It wasn’t just the difference in their species, but the act itself. It wasn’t her first time somewhat romantically kissing another. However with Nick, it went beyond that. It wasn’t sloppy or wet. He wasn’t trying to overzealously devour her mouth or tongue. It felt like a well rehearsed dance, as if they had practiced it a thousand times prior, responding appropriately to her every movement, sound, and touch.

Judy exhaled a tiny whimper, daring to explore with her tongue. She could feel the sharp tips of his fangs. It didn’t cause her to retreat but become more curious as she licked them lightly. Nick responded in kind, his much longer tongue teasing hers with a gentle slide and tickle. He pulled it away to discover that she began to relentlessly seek it out again. Ending his tease, Nick allowed his tongue to become entangled in her’s. This only caused Judy to smile more deeply into the kiss. 

They almost parted for a moment to catch their breaths but Judy was having none of that nonsense. One small paw reached up to grab Nick by the loose knot of his violet tie, the special tie she knew he bought for himself as a reminder of her eyes and fiercely pulled him closer. The other paw offered a silky touch against his snout, deepening their kiss.

Nick uttered a satisfactory breath of compliance as he found himself lurched forward by his partner’s strength. The fox found himself completely lost in the hunger of her affection, responding in kind by gently cupping the back of her head. He had no idea what to expect, never having kissed a completely different mammal before, much less a prey species. But everything he was experiencing in this one moment, made him wish he had taken the plunge sooner. 

Despite both of them having gone through a long period of not sharing such pure affection with another mammal, everything was just falling into place, filling a void of longing they both had shared. It felt so natural and wonderful that truth be told, Nick didn’t want to stop anymore. Kissing Judy for the first time surpassed every expectation he imagined as a shudder pierced through his whole upper body.

Even the taste of her was far different than any vixen he had been with before. There was an earthy sweetness that made everything Nick experienced in the past utterly pale in comparison. It was _intoxicating_ and only drove his pent up desire further. Judy responded to his renewed passion with a small lip bite and tug, causing Nick to raise an eyebrow in amusement and exhale a delighted groan of his own.

After what seemed like an eternity yet still not long enough, the two finally parted breathlessly, their panting muzzles floating a mere inch from each other. Their eyes remained locked in a heated daze.

Judy was the first to whisper. “That was...”

“Amazing,” Nick quietly finished for her.

“Yes. Yes it was.”

Still reeling from the kiss, Judy let her head fall forward, bopping against Nick’s shoulder as she wedged herself into the soft thick fur of his neck. Gently grinding her teeth, she elicited a soft purr. Nick craned his neck to rest against her soft fluffy cheek, closing his eyes, basking in their shared euphoria. He wanted to pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. Instead Nick wrapped his tail around Judy, further enveloping his bunny in his warmth. 

A short distance away, an older pig in a turquoise bowling shirt and a smaller groundhog in a colorful summer dress, strolled down the cobblestone pathway together, paws intertwined. The pig noticed the younger fox and bunny on the park bench and nudged his wife.

“Ain’t that something? Would ya look at that, Mary?” the husband asked, gesturing to the bench.

“Now, George… it’s rude to stare,” the elderly groundhog playfully swatted her husband’s arm. “But you’re right. Those two sure look so adorable together!”

George chuckled to himself. “Yep. Time’s sure are a’ changin’!”

The interspecies couple continued on their way, leaving the fox and bunny comfortably content in their newfound bliss.

* * *

Nick and Judy made it to her apartment’s floor, walking down the hallway holding paws. They kept quiet as it was rather late and they didn’t want to disturb any of her neighbors. Judy unlocked the door and stood there in the doorway.

Leaning up against the doorframe, Nick traced a finger along her chin. “Pick you up for breakfast, tomorrow?”

Judy cupped his larger paw, keeping it still between her tinier paws. “I’d like that.”

“I’ll be here at nine.”

“Eight!” she said.

“Seven it is!” he winked.

“Ei…” Judy paused mid-counter, shaking her head with a pleasing chuckle. She socked him lightly and he returned it by swatting her with his tail. “Okay, seven. Don’t be late,” Judy ordered.

“Yes, ma’am,” Nick said.

Letting go of his paw, Judy reached up once more, pulling Nick down by his tie into a short goodbye kiss. However, her plan failed and they continued to kiss for several minutes longer. Finally separating, Judy gave him one last soft peck on his cheek.

Nick turned and headed out, offering her a small wave. “Sweet dreams, Carrots.”

“Goodnight, Nick.” Judy said watching her fox go until he slinked away on the first set of steps with one last look over the shoulder and a salute.

As Nick descended the stairs, he gently placed a paw on his cheek where Judy had kissed him again, smiling like a silly teenager. The fox paused for a moment, taking out his phone, changing the homescreen wallpaper photo from the booth shot to one of the pictures Michelle had taken of the two of them at the dinner table. Satisfied, Nick continued on his way with both paws in his pockets. He was eager to rush home so he could get up bright and early, ready to take Judy out for breakfast.

Meanwhile, Judy closed her door and locked it. She pressed her back against the frame, closing her eyes with a big joyous smile while clasping her paws. The bunny’s nose twitched as the fragrance of the flowers had filled her entire apartment with a fresh country scent in her absence. Her happy thoughts were interrupted when her ears perked up and the photos on her wall began to rattle.

_Those two are still awake!?_

“Hey bunny, it’s about _damn_ time!”

“Leave the officer alone! Can’t you just let her bask in the moment?”

“Oh, shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

The bunny shook her head. Judy wasn’t going to let her crazy neighbors ruin her happiness. As her eyes fell on the source of the wonderful scents, she reached for her phone and took a few pictures of the bouquet. Humming a little tune afterwards, she slipped into her comfy pajamas, and fell onto her mattress. Judy reached for one of her small rabbit plushies and curled up into a ball facing her desk. 

Staring at the vase full of beautiful flowers glistening in the gentle moonlight, heavy eyelids tugged her into a welcoming sleep as a smile curled on her tiny muzzle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So… that happened! ;) WildeHopps is finally here ladies and gents after that long wait and homestretch buildup. 
> 
> I personally hoped everyone enjoyed the scene between Nick and his mom as that’s been one I’ve had cooking since the beginning and is one of my favorites in the whole story. With Mrs. Wilde being a clean slate minus the movie flashback showing us that she was kind and generous, I injected a little bit of my own mom’s personality into her to help shape her character throughout the story. So that scene is dedicated to all the great Moms out there who will do or say what’s needed because they want to see their kids happy.
> 
> I would also like to thank everyone for the growing comments, reviews, favs, and follows - you’re all super awesome, and a special thanks to some of you who sent me some really nice messages since the last chapter. I hope this latest entry was fun to read, met expectations, and felt satisfactory. If not, please do let me know what can be improved for the future.
> 
> Also a special shoutout to Cimar of WildeHopps and Anistuffs for once again offering their time for editing, comments, feedback, ideas, and critiques. These last two chapters wouldn’t have been the same without their contributions. I’ve been very lucky to stumble across their help. Do give their works a read too!
> 
> So let me know what you guys think! Next chapter will bring a few fun surprises, laughs, and a ton of fluff. No spoiling it!


	16. Wants and Wishes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Judy and Nick spend some time together before returning to life on the beat as more than partners. And Nick finally reveals his special gift when Judy's birthday arrives.

Flipping the next page of the book she was reading, Judy paused to look at the door, then to the clock, then back to the door again before her eyes returned to the book on her lap. The bunny’s alarm radio read 6:39AM as she eagerly waited for Nick to arrive. Reaching over to the side, Judy grabbed another lupine to snack on as a small appetizer. For a prey mammal like herself, flower bouquets made for both wonderful romantic gestures and tasty treats. She didn’t want to spoil her breakfast, but, having been awake for over an hour anxiously awaiting Nick’s arrival was causing her stomach to growl.

Judy began to read a new paragraph but it didn’t take long to become mildly distracted as the sweet taste and smell of lupine caused her to flash back to those amorous memories from last night. Just like that, everything had changed… or had it really? She couldn’t imagine anything being too different between them than before, just more exciting as they both had declared their love to one another, taking their relationship to the next level.

Just as Judy impatiently checked the clock once more, her ears twitched to movement in the hallway and a big toothy smile appeared at the sounds of a playful knock on her door. Not even bothering to bookmark her page, Judy tossed the book onto her mattress and hopped to the door. Swinging it opened revealed her partner, no, now her _boyfriend_ , standing there with a pair of drinks already in paw. Nick was leaning against the frame like he always did, dressed in his usual green Pawaiian shirt, aviators sitting atop his head, and sporting the violet tie. His smile grew even wider as he set eyes on Judy as she appeared from behind the door itself, dressed in her casual blue shirt and black leggings.

“Morning, Fluff. Decaf?” he offered.

“Good morning!” she cheerfully greeted, giving Nick a big hug. Lingering in the embrace, Judy’s paw traced a line down his elongated back. When they parted, she curiously eyed the coffee Nick was dangling in front of her. Normally not a coffee drinker, Judy accepted the brew and took a cautious sip. Smacking her lips, she noticed it was lightly sweetened with a touch of cinnamon but not too overpowering.

“Hmm, thank you.” Judy reached out to gently tug Nick down by his tie and gave him a small nose boop.

Wiggling an eyebrow, Nick took another chug of his own Snarlbucks coffee. “Were you up long?”

“Only a little bit,” she smiled.

Nick spied the upside book on her mattress. “What’re you reading?”

“Don Coyote,” Judy said after taking another taste.

“Is that right?” Nick began to dramatically gesture, “Enjoying the _quixotic_ tales of heroic Don Coyote and Sancho Panda defending the honor of fair maidens, fighting giants, and enchanters? Oh, my favorite part is when he attacks the wi––”

“Hello, spoilers! I’m only on The First Sally!” Judy interrupted as she raised her arms up.

“Whoopsie…” he smirked, tossing back the last of his own life giving brew. “Ready to eat?”

Judy’s glare softened as she leaned up against him, chin on his torso looking up. “Where should we go?”

“Kodiak’s Donuttery?”

“Oh,” Judy began, bouncing excitedly on her toes. “Good choice!” With keys already in paw, she took Nick by the arm, locked the door, and led him down the hallway. 

Accepting the assertive handling, the fox flicked his aviators on with a smile as the new couple made their way downstairs to street level, heading to catch the next subway train to Otterdam, located in the southeastern part of Downtown. The busy morning crowd packed the train to the brim, causing the fox and bunny to be squeezed between several larger mammals. Nick managed to find an unused hanging strap and took hold of it, while Judy on the other paw, decided to use Nick’s shirt sleeve as her personal strap, holding onto to it with quite a grip as the two shared an amused glance.

During the quiet ride, they both checked their phones. Judy noticed several texts from her family, including a new one from her parents. They had called two days ago to check on her after she visited Mrs. Wilde. The bunny assured her parents that everything was fine and she was spending the remainder of her vacation with Nick. Firing off a quick text, Judy decided she would call her parents later that day.

Arriving at their destination, the duo enjoyed a short trek before setting foot into one of their favorite breakfast locations. Kodiak’s Donuttery was a small hole-in-the-wall bakery run by a big cowboy hat wearing, jolly brown bear named Jeb. Like Judy, he moved to Zootopia some time ago to follow a dream and start a new life with his family’s knack for baking. The bakery was a favorite among several of Precinct One’s officers.

Entering the bakery and surveying the lengthy waiting line, Judy frowned but the fresh baked aromas tickled her nose and instantly renewed her good mood. She turned to look up at Nick. “I’ll go stand in line. Find us a table?”

“You bet,” he nodded. Before departing, Nick reached out to run the paw pads of his index finger and thumb gently along her right ear, causing Judy to nearly stumble from the unexpected sensation.

“Nick! Stop it!” There was no bite in her bark. Judy playfully shoved Nick’s paw away for his little shenanigan before hopping in line. 

Pleased with himself, the smug fox sauntered away, paws behind his back, in search of some empty seats. He could get used to this. 

The bunny glanced back as she got in line, watching Nick walking away, his tail swishing back and forth. “All right, Slick Nick. Two can play this game,” Judy mused to herself as she scooted along with the rest of the customers. Nick disappeared towards the sidewalk tables along the street corner under the shared awnings of the local marketplace.

“Alrighty, next customer!” came the boisterous yet friendly roar from over the counter. A stocky brown bear sporting a cowboy hat in a messy apron with a checkered shirt looked at the small space between the departing lioness who just paid and an impatient moose in a suit to the right. Tipping his hat with a smirk, he leaned over to see a familiar gray bunny with a distant yet devious look in her eyes. “Ah, well if it ain’t my favorite lil’ officer. Mornin’ Miss Hopps! Haven’t seen you around for a spell.”

The sound of her surname finally caused Judy to snap back to attention and look up at the store owner. “Oh. Hi, Jeb! I’m sorry I spaced out. How have you been?”

“Busy as a cub in a honey jar! And no need to apologize, Miss Hopps. Doin’ a run for yer precinct? Shall I prepare Mister Clawhauser’s usual dozen?”

“Actually, we are off-duty! It was Nick’s suggestion to come here for breakfast today,” she cheerfully answered.

“Ah, I appreciate that. Give Mister Wilde my regards. So, what can I git for ya’ll?” Jeb asked, clicking a pair of tongs in paw. 

With her face and paws against the glass, tail wiggling, and rising up on her tiptoes, Judy stared at all the delicious options in front of her. Doing her best from holding up the line again, the bunny quickly pointed at a couple of pastries while Jeb expertly scooped them up.

Outside, Nick managed to snag a small table before a pair of woodchucks could claim it and leisurely leaned against it. His eyes naturally bounced from mammal to mammal, sizing them up, as they hurried along their daily morning routines. The sounds of soft, quick-moving feet and a rustling bag directed the fox’s attention back to the seat next to him. Judy was already sitting next to him, emptying the contents onto the table.

“One raspberry-hazelnut galette for you… and one hazelnut and buckwheat financier with figs for me. And Jeb says hi!" the bunny announced.

“You do know the way to my heart,” Nick said, wagging his tail in anticipation.

“Through your ego?” Judy supplied.

Raising a finger to counter, Nick conceded to the point instead, “Well… there is that. But my stomach counts too.” Flattening his ears and a mock look of sorrow, Nick turned to Judy with puppy eyes and a pouty tone, “And only one pastry for moi?”

“I’m not having you fall asleep on me today,” Judy declared, then took a hungry bite of her own food, completely unaffected by his usual theatrics.

“Guess that restraining order’s already been filed,” Nick smirked before diving into his galette. “Cruel bunny.”

“Gluttonous fox.”

The two ate in comfortable silence while enjoying their breakfast. Once they finished, Judy scooted closer to Nick, burrowing herself under his arm as the fox and bunny watched the crowds with full stomachs.

A thought entered Judy’s mind as she watched a laughing hyena couple stroll by. “So… last night, you said you’ve wanted to tell me how you felt for a while…” she paused for a moment, suddenly feeling a little trepid as Nick fully turned his attention to her. “When did you know?”

There was a brief pause as Nick’s muzzle formed a soft smile. “The night we had dinner at my Mom’s.”

“Really!?” Judy said, a little too loudly than she intended as her ears shot up. Several passersby glanced in their general direction.

Now it was Nick’s turn to feel a little coy and scratch the back of his neck. “When I walked you to your door and you hugged me goodnight… I… um… I almost nuzzled you… I stopped myself in time so you wouldn’t notice,” Nick spoke quietly. Judy’s eyes remained locked with his. He watched them flicker about as she scanned his own. A confident smugness reformed on his face. “You might just say that’s when you cuffed my heart, Officer Fluff.”

Judy’s eyes and mouth went wide open as she attempted to reply, only to bury her face into his shirt with a loud snort. Nick’s punchline took it over the top for her. “Oh, crusty soil… that’s _so_ cheesy!” the bunny managed between chuckles. “I love it!”

The amused fox took it in stride and just gently stroked her back while Judy tried to regain control of her laughter. When she finally settled down, the bunny remained quiet before turning her head just enough to peer at the street again, placing one of her paws on his chest. “After I went home and I started to really miss you… I figured it out.”

“So, do all rabbits usually take so long to realize they’re madly in love with their partner or is it just you?”

Playfully narrowing her eyes, Judy began to repeatedly jab at Nick’s belly, lowering her voice in a mix of sarcasm and flirtiness. “Oh ho, very funny coming from the fox who fell muzzle over tail first!”

“No, no, no!” Nick attempted to halt the frisky assault by squeezing Judy into a tight hug, causing her to mildly fidget in response.

“Nick, you are such a…” before Judy could finish her statement, a concerned voice interrupted her.

“Miss? Miss, is this fox bothering you? Should I call the cops?”

Both Nick and Judy froze and slowly turned their heads to see a worried llama with his smartphone out ready to dial the ZPD hotline.

Exchanging a long glance with one another, the two off duty officers returned their unamused gaze back to the llama and produced their badges. “We _are_ the cops!” they chorused.

Embarrassed, the llama took a few steps back before fleeing the scene.

“Boy, look at him go. I haven’t seen a guy run like that since that time we saw those cheetah exhibitors at the MES convention,” Nick said, doing his best to keep the edges of his lips from forming a frown.

Chuckling at the quip, Judy studied Nick for a moment before reaching up to pull him closer to her so that their foreheads met. She traced a finger along the side of Nick’s snout, causing the fox to instantly forget the lame llama’s words. “I wish it hadn’t taken me so long to figure it out.”

“No.” Nick’s soft reply caused Judy to slightly rear her head in confusion. “It wasn’t the right time yet. It worked out better this way,” he finished with a genuine smile, no hints of snark or jest in his voice.

Taking a moment to consider his words, Judy smiled back at Nick. “You’re right.” 

“I know.”

“Oh, don’t you start again! Now c’mon… we have a whole day to spend together!” Judy said while grabbing his arm and pulling him out of his seat.

A flick of the wrist later, the aviators were back on and Nick accepted Judy’s lead. “Right behind you, Carrots.”

With no real set plan, the spontaneous couple happily meandered their way south along Herd Street into Acorn Heights. They took in the city sights while bantering and commenting on the various mammals they saw. Nick knew how to expertly weave between the crowds, avoiding the path of larger or oblivious mammals. Every so often, Judy found Nick being distracted by some type of amusing billboard or show being played in the window of an electronics store but nothing a quick tug of his tie couldn’t fix.

Grabbing some smoothies for their journey, they found themselves back in Downtown at the main town square watering hole. Judy watched some kits running around playing tag. As she followed their swift movements, her eyes settled on a large banner that caught her attention.

“Nick, look!” Judy pointed across the small idyllic park. “The Natural History Museum is open today.”

“So it is,” he said while slurping up the last of his smoothie. “You’re thinking what I think you’re thinking, aren’t you?”

“That we should go inside? Yes, I am,” Judy said while walking backwards. “We haven’t really been to see the exhibits and we work right next to it! It’ll be fun!”

“Maybe they’ll let us in for free if we show’em our badges,” Nick suggested with a grin.

“Nick… c’mon.” Judy shook her head and grabbed his paw. “We should support the arts. It’s important.”

“I support the arts,” he protested with a paw across his chest.

“Is that why the empty walls of your apartment have _so_ many paintings hanging on them?”

“I just haven’t found any I like… I’m not exactly a Pigcasso or Van Goat kind of fox.”

Chuckling, Judy approached the entrance. “Maybe you’d be a Rambrandt kind of fox.”

“How about a nice Tigian’s Venus or Cougarbet’s L’Origine du monde? That would look good over the TV,” Nick replied with a devilish smirk.

Judy paused for a moment when the visuals of the two famous nude paintings came to mind. She did her best to hide her innocent reaction and suppress a tiny groan as to not give Nick exactly what he was fishing for.

“You know this isn’t that kind of museum, right?” Nick said, holding the door open, still watching Judy intently.

Relieved to change the subject, Judy skipped forward quickly. “Yes. I know. C’mon!” she replied, patting his chest.

“Just checking,” he said with an all knowing smirk. 

Purchasing two tickets at the main desk, they strolled through the giant circular lobby, passing the small pit exhibit where a large tour was being conducted. Finding a map of the museum, the fox and bunny decided to start on one end and make their way around before checking out the second floor. The first exhibit displayed several ancient prey ancestors from the Prehistoric Era.

Judy stopped next to a giant mammal skeleton that resembled something of a mix between an elephant and rhino with two giant joined horns on it’s head.

“Arsinoitherium zitteli,” she read aloud.

“Looks more like Arsino-don’t-get-on-his-bad-side zitteli,” Nick added, standing behind her with his paws behind his back. “Bet he was fun at parties.”

Shaking her head. Judy moved onto to the next display.

Nick moved ahead a few displays when something in particular caught his attention. His ears raised and a gleeful expression took hold of his muzzle. “Oh, Carrots. Come check this out!”

“What? What?” Judy said, curiously hopping over.

“Look at this,” Nick pointed at a large image of a ginormous brown rabbit. “One of your ancestors was the size of a tiny compact car.”

This earned Nick an arm tap and a glare. Judy then looked up at the plaque. “Huh… Nuralagus Rex. It says they went extinct.”

“That’s a bummer.”

“You want a taller girlfriend?” Judy teased.

“I like mine just the way she is,” he winked before sauntering away.

With a small smirk of her own, Judy followed as they passed through several more exhibits. They soon found themselves in the Stone Age exhibit. There was a display that recreated a scene of an ancient tribe of jackalope rabbits, wearing simple loincloths and crude stone spears.

Leaning against the wall, Nick smirked as he studied the statues. “Remember when I used one of these as a decoy?”

“Yes, that was very clever of you, sly fox.” Judy reminisced. It was still hard to believe that was a year ago now.

Nick reached out to touch the tip of the spear despite the ‘no touching’ sign. “And you said bunnies can’t go savage.”

“Only if you call them cute,” Judy said, leaning against the railing.

“Not sure I’d call anyone pointing a spear at me, ‘cute’. Glad I wasn’t around in those days.”

“Aw, is the fox afraid of a few armed bunnies?” Judy teased.

“A few armed bunnies with antlers and huge teeth. This fox would be afraid of becoming some kind of fox trophy over the mantle in their burrow. _I_ , am a _lover_ , not a fighter,” he said, placing a paw over his heart.

“You do prefer using that silver tongue of yours, Slick.”

“I think you might too,” Nick replied in a husky tone next to her ears.

Judy’s eyes widened at the implication and she playfully shoved his muzzle away, followed by a wide hip bump for his overtly flirty comment as they moved on to another exhibit. This time it was a predator-focused one.

“Maybe they have an ancient fox somewhere,” Judy mused.

“Just look for the best looking mammal here and we’ll find it.”

With a heavy sigh, Judy continued looking through the images and statues. After some diligent searching, she happened upon a male white fox that was said to be from the snowy Himallamas region. The bunny gasped at the sight of the ancient fox’s coat.

Nick came over to see what caught Judy’s attention. “See. I told you…”

“Why can’t your fur be that fluffy!?” she interrupted with her rapid fire question.

Pausing for a moment, Nick cocked an eyebrow. “Well, we could transfer over to Precinct Three in Tundratown then I’d get my winter coat and we could compare who’s fluffier.”

“That’s a thing?” Judy asked now more interested than ever. “How about you transfer and I’ll come visit you!”

“Yes, that’s a thing,” Nick began by standing next to the statue, gesturing towards it with a mock offended face. “And I see how it is. You only want me for my fluff.”

“If it’ll look like that,” she pointed to the fake fox, giving Nick her best flirty muzzle. “You bet I do.”

With a hearty chuckle, Nick placed a paw around Judy’s shoulder and she squeezed him in return before moving on to the next part of the museum. 

As they finished their own tour, the fox and bunny approached a tour group stopping at the large pit in the circular lobby in front of them. Nick noticed that the tour guide was a sloth who was teaching a very large, and rather impatient, group of students on a field-trip about the exhibit.

“Boy, they sure look like they’re having fun,” he said, amused at the children’s boredom.

“Don’t be mean,” Judy chided him. “I’m sure the tour guide is doing a great job!”

“Right. Then maybe we should eavesdrop in?” Nick suggested.

“Oh ha-ha! No. We already know all about this one! From the inside out! Remember? We won’t learn anything new...” Judy prattled on trying to find an excuse not to.

“Uh huh,” Nick replied sensing a ripe opportunity. “I think we might.”

Judy exhaled a mixed groan and whimper as they joined the tour. Nick simply listened intently to the ever slow speaking tour guide while Judy appeared to grow as impatient and restless as the kits around them. The sound of her foot thumping caught everyone’s attention. Judy’s ears shot up at the sudden multitudinous pairs of eyes that fell upon her.

One of the kits, a small cougar boy, began to jump excitedly when he recognized the gray rabbit next to the group. “Oh, oh. Are you Miss Judy Hopps!?”

“She sure is, junior,” Nick answered for Judy with a smirk and stepped behind her, leaning his elbow atop her head, ruffling her ears.

“Did you really fall in the pit down here and arrest the bad mayor!? Did you? Did you?”

Clearing her throat, Judy clasped her paws together and smiled brightly. “Yes, little guy. I did. But I didn’t do it all by myself. I had this _nice_ fox to help me,” Judy said sweetly, reaching behind her to grab Nick’s tie and yank the fox’s muzzle right next to her’s. “Say hi to my partner, Officer Wilde.”

A chorus of his and hellos greeted the tethered fox. Nick waved back sheepishly. Judy maintained her grip so that Nick couldn’t slip away.

“Does anyone have any questions they’d like to ask us?” Judy chirped.

A tsunami of inquiries came straight at the fox and bunny officers.

“Can I join the ZPD?”

“Can we ride in your car?”

“Have you ever shot anyone with a sleepy gun?”

“How many bad guys have you caught?”

“Can you show us how you caught the bad mayor?”

Judy’s ears twitched at the last intriguing question. “I think we can do that. Whaddya say, Nick?”

“Please!” came several expectant pleads.

“I think we can arrange that,” Nick said, resigning to his fate, glancing over to the satisfied smirk on Judy’s face.

“I’m sorry for interrupting, ma’am,” Judy spoke to the sloth tour guide. “May we?”

“Sure… I… don’t… mind. Please… go… ahead… Officer… Hopps.”

“Yay!” sang the jubilant kits.

Judy noticed a pen in the tour guide’s pocket and walked over. “May I borrow this? Thank you.”

The pair began taking turns in telling the tale of how they found the evidence needed to save the city and tried to race through the museum to get to the ZPD headquarters. Naturally, they left out the exploding train part. They continued the story by saying how they were suspiciously confronted by the Mayor and suspected her treachery. Then Judy shared how they tried to run and hide but her leg got injured by a giant statue’s tusk. Nick revealed how they came up with the plan to switch the ammo in the dart gun with some blueberries before making a run for the exit.

Judy took over with how Nick carried her and did his best to protect her when a ram knocked them both into the pit below. 

Deciding to have a little fun, Nick gestured to the group. “Who would like to help us finish the story by playing the bad mayor? Any volunteers?”

Everyone raised their paws. Even the sloth tour guide… eventually.

“Boy,” Nick mused. “This is gonna be tough. Let’s see…” he placed a paw over his eyes and randomly moved his other paw through the group. “And our volunteer is…” his finger landed on the cougar kit. “Well, it’s your lucky day, junior.”

“Yes!” he roared.

“What’s your name, pal?” Nick asked leaning forward on his knees.

“Brad Kitt, sir!”

“All right, Brad. Come stand over here and act all evil,” Nick said. The cougar kit did as he was told, rubbing his paws together while attempting a wicked cackle. Nick chuckled, then whispered a few instructions into his ear.

Judy continued to dramatically narrate how the Mayor shot Nick, trying to make him go savage but she knew he wouldn’t hurt her as she tried to bait the Mayor into a confession.

“That’s your cue, bad Mayor,” Nick whispered as he pretended to chase Judy around the group. All eyes were glued on them.

“Uh… rawr! I’m a bad a guy! I’m gonna make everyone go savage! Yeah!” Brad yelled.

Now it was Judy’s turn. She let Nick catch her and he pretended to playfully pounce her, making sure not to show his teeth. “Blood! Blood! Blood!” The kids gasped at her words. “And death!”

“Don’t worry, kids.” Nick said once they held the pose long enough for dramatic effect, offering a paw to Judy who also sat up. “Farmer bunny. She’s a milker, isn’t she?”

“Boom! And that’s how we got her confession!” Judy said proudly holding up the pen!

The children clapped in excitement. 

“You did good back there, junior,” Nick said patting the cougar kit on the back.

“Really, Officer Wilde?” Brad looked up in awe, a slight spring as he bounced on his feet.

“One hundred percent.”

“Here’s something for you, little guy.” Judy walked over and planted a junior ZPD sticker on his shirt.

“Cool!”

“Anyone else like a sticker?” Judy asked jovially.

All the kits crowded around the bunny officer so they could get their very own badge too. They managed to give each kit a badge, with two to spare as they bid the tour group farewell and made their way towards the museum’s exit.

Turning around, Nick walked backwards and waved to the children one last time. “Remember kids, eat your blueberries!”

Outside, Nick and Judy were walking back along the town center fountain, heading to nowhere in particular again. They stopped by a food cart vendor to grab some snacks. As they were strolling on the sidewalk, Nick’s phone began to ring. Judy could tell by the look on his face that he recognized who was calling him but abstained from answering since this was their time.

“It’s okay, Nick. I don’t mind.”

“You sure?” he asked reluctantly. 

“Yes. Answer the phone, silly fox.”

Nick reached into his pocket and answered before it went to voicemail. “Yeah, Finn? Uh huh… uh huh… today? I can’t today, I’m with Carrots right now… No. She came home early. No, I’m not gonna ask her…” A tugging of his sleeve interrupted Nick as he looked down to see Judy trying to get his attention back. “Hang on a sec.”

“Nick, if Finnick needs you, you can go help him,” she said in a cheery voice.

“Isn’t this _our_ time right now? I can always meet him later,” Nick said moving the phone away from their conversation.

“It’s fine. Really! I mean it,” she said, squeezing his paw.

With a smile, the fox returned to his phone. “Alright, big guy, I’ll be over. Meet you at the usual? Bye then. He says thanks, by the way, and that it’s nothing illegal.”

“Nick…” Judy poked him in the side. “I know that. What are you two gonna do?”

“It’s a secret,” Nick grinned.

“Of course it is,” Judy rolled her eyes. “Can you walk home with me?”

“You betcha.”

* * *

Judy found herself sitting on her bed after Nick walked her home. They said their goodbyes and confirmed that they would see each other again tomorrow. The bunny was once again flicking through several texts on her phone that she had received throughout the day from her family but chose to answer later. Remembering her mental note to call her parents tonight, now seemed as good a time as any.

It only took a few rings before Bonnie appeared on Judy’s screen through MuzzleTime, happy to see her daughter from the big city calling, “Hi Bun-Bun! How was your day?”

Before Judy could reply, Stu’s face found its way in front of the camera, nearly pushing his wife aside. “Hey, Jude the dude! How’s it going?”

“Hi, Mom. Dad.” Judy smiled warmly. “I’m sorry I didn’t call you guys back sooner. I was out all day.”

A worried look took over Stu’s muzzle. “Are you back at work yet, honey? We just wanted to make sure you were okay!”

“Oh for beet's sake, Stu! You can see she’s fine,” Bonnie chided. While the matriarch had grown to worry less with time over their headstrong and independent daughter, Stu was still very much the worrywart of the pair. 

“Everything’s great. Really! Actually, it’s wonderful…” Judy interjected, contemplating if and how she should just break the news to her parents about the recent major change in her life.

A visible wave of relief washed over Stu’s face. “Sorry, I get so worked up. I know you can handle yourself in the big city. Oh cripes, look at me, I’m hogging the conversation, aren’t I?”

“It’s okay, Dad.” Judy paused a moment, biting her lip. “There’s something I want to tell you… and Mom.”

Now both parents looked at the screen intently, noses twitching, waiting to hear what their daughter wanted to share.

Rubbing her lowered ears, Judy took a deep breath. “When I left home early… it was because I realized something… I missed Nick so much and I found out I lo––”

Stu couldn’t help himself to interrupt. “Of course you’d miss him honey. Just like we always miss you. You two spend so much time together…”

“Dad.”

“...and you’re such darn good friends. Like two peas in a pod.”

“Dad.”

“After all he’s your partner too and…”

“Dad! He’s _more_ than my partner.” 

Judy’s admission stopped Stu in his rambling tracks. Both Bonnie and Stu exchanged glances. After a moment of silence, Stu was the first to speak again. “Judy, is he your boyfriend now?”

“Yes, Dad. He is,” she replied sweetly, a true look of happiness appearing on his daughter’s face. “I _love_ him.”

“Well, cheese and crackers.” Stu appeared momentarily at a loss for words. “So, that means it’s mutual?”

“Yes, Dad. He loves me too. Nick actually felt that way first.”

“I see,” Stu replied, a wrinkle on his nose as he appeared to furrow his brow in deep thought. 

Bonnie watched her husband. “Stu, dear. If Judy says they’re really in love then we should be supportive.”

“It’s not that, Bon,” the Hopps patriarch said quickly. “I just wasn’t expecting…” Stu trailed off, trying to find the words.

“Wasn’t expecting what, Dad? Is it because Nick is a predator? A fox?” Judy asked anxiously, her lower lip quivering ever so slightly. Her worst fear manifesting that her family would reject Nick because he wasn’t a rabbit.

“That’s not it, Judy.”

Both Bonnie and Judy kept their gaze on Stu who took a deep nervous breath.

“I was just beginning to worry because we were always introducing you to all these bucks and nothing ever worked out… I thought you just weren’t interested or maybe we just couldn’t ever find the right guy for you. But it turns out he was right there this whole time.”

“You’re really okay with Nick and I?”

Giving Judy his best fatherly smile, Stu leaned closer to the camera phone, his large muzzle nearly taking up over half of the screen. He did his best to keep his wavering voice steady. “Listen honey, we know how much Nick’s always meant to you and from everything you’ve told us, he’s always been there for you too… that’s the kind of guy I expected would win my little Jude the dude’s heart. Heck, next time you come visit, be sure to bring him along. We’d love to have him over. Right, Bon?”

“Oh, yes. He should come visit!” Bonnie nodded in agreement, placing a paw on her husband’s arm.

“Really?” Judy’s eyes widened in joy as a smile appeared on her muzzle.

“You bet, honey.”

“Dad…” Judy nearly began to tear up too. “That means so much to me.”

Preemptively wiping away a pooling tear, Stu looked between his wife and daughter. “I’ll let you and your mother catch up before I…” Stu’s voice began to crack. “Oh cripes, I better go! I love ya.”

“I love you too, Dad. Bye.”

A teary eyed Stu waved goodbye to the camera and left the video frame.

“Don’t mind your father, he always wants what’s best for you,” Bonnie said with an endearing smile, picking up the conversation again.

“I know, Mom.”

“So…” Bonnie put on her most endearing smile that all mother’s instinctively knew how to use when they wanted to find out wonderful information from one of their children. “When did this all happen?”

“Yesterday. He brought me flowers.” Judy said in a rather loving tone. “After dinner, we got ice cream and went to a park… I was ready to say something when Nick tried to say it too. He insisted on telling me first. It was so sweet.”

“I suspected something when your sister bought you a ticket to go back to the city. Then two days later, he called us.”

Judy blinked in surprise. “Nick called you?”

“He did,” Bonnie acknowledged. “He wanted to thank us for the blueberries and asked me what kind of flowers you liked.”

“Wait. That’s how he found out!?”

“He was rather shy about it,” Bonnie added with a smile. “That’s when I knew.”

“Why that bold, sly…” Judy mumbled in astonishment. The younger doe collected herself. “And you’re okay with that, Mom?”

“Oh, Bun-Bun. I could tell by the look on Nicholas’s face as he asked me. He reminded me so much of your father when we were younger. And I can tell by how you always talk about him that you feel the same way. And if you’ve taught your father and I anything over the years, it’s that nothing will stop you once you’ve set your heart to it.” Bonnie smiled.

“Mom, thank you.”

“Now you keep each other safe and tell him hi from us, okay?”

“I will. I love you, Mom.”

“Love you too, sweetheart. Buh-bye,” Bonnie said as she tilted her head and tapped the end-call button.

With a beaming smile on her face, Judy placed the phone back on her desk and connected it to the charger. It felt like a wave of relief was lifted off her shoulders knowing her mom was okay with this recent development and although her dad seemed mostly fine about it, she knew he would come around fully in due time, especially if he and Nick spent some time together.

After slipping into some more comfortable sleepwear, she decided to lounge on the bed against her pillows surrounded by her horde of plushies and curl up to a book. It took a few moments to find where she left off in Don Coyote when she had haphazardly tossed the book onto the mattress earlier that morning. In no time at all, the bunny was lost in her imagination for the remainder of the night, only stopping later to brush her teeth and send a few goodnight texts to Nick before turning in, falling asleep with a smile on her face eagerly awaiting what the next day will bring.

* * *

The following morning, Nick texted Judy that he needed to go to the station for a half-shift. After a few short hours, the fox and bunny met up at the entrance to the ZPD and the two headed out to grab some food. With paws entwined, the couple strolled through Downtown, taking in the urban sprawl as Nick led Judy through his little known shortcuts and side streets. They pointed out various eateries to try until Nick spied a place called NINCOMSOUP. The amused fox insisted on giving it a try to which Judy agreed.

“You would stop at a place with a pun name,” Judy observed as Nick held the door open for her.

“I’d be a _nincompoop_ not to,” the fox supplied.

Judy could only roll her eyes so hard. “I really should have seen that coming. But you know, Alex _did_ tell me that the best food comes from hole-in-the-wall places with bad names!”

“Grizz is a wise wolf,” Nick said walking inside behind Judy. “Maybe I should start calling him Grizzalf the white!”

“Oh, hush.”

A small bell above the door alerted the family of friendly pandas working at the soup counter to greet their customers. One of the daughters came over to seat Nick and Judy at an appropriately sized table and left them with some lemon tea and menus.

Skimming the menu, Judy glanced over at Nick who was slouching in a very relaxed manner, studying the small menu with just one paw. “What did you have to do at the station this morning?” she asked.

“Paperwork,” he drawled. Glancing at the bunny across the table, Nick noticed a small jitter pass through Judy when he answered the question. “That excited to get back into the thick of things, Officer Fluff?”

“Of course! I can’t wait to go in tomorrow!” There was no hiding the excitement in her voice or reaction as her ears shot completely up and a smile breached her muzzle.

“It’s only been two weeks.” Nick casually leaned on an arm with a smirk.

“Two weeks too many,” the bunny pointed out.

“ _Too_ long for the _two_ foot tall officer?” Nick quipped in a rather baby-like tone. With the look Judy gave him, the battle was on.

“Who's _too_ happy to ignore her boyfriend _two_ feet across from her,” Judy shot back.

“That’s _too_ bad.” Nick smiled and buried his head in the menu. “He has at least _two_ great comebacks.”

 _Return fire, Judy_ … “ _Too_ much for _to_ -day,” the bunny hinted.

The waitress returned to take their orders, cutting off any possible retort Nick had ready to fire. Taking a breather, Nick signaled for Judy to order first.

“I’ll have the large tomato with basil soup, please!” the bunny chirped.

“Very good miss.” the panda bowed and took the menu, turning to face the fox. “And you, sir?”

Nick took the moment to lean back, his lips quickly forming a smug grin. “Let’s make that _two_ ,” he said excitedly, holding up two fingers. “Oh, do you think we could get those as a _two_ -fer lunch special? I had to work _too_ early this morning. I’m so hungry I could eat like _two_ foxes _to_ -day!”

“And what would like you like with your soup?”

“ _Two_ spring rolls, please. They look _too_ tasty to pass up!” Nick smirked as he maintained direct eye contact with Judy the entire time, handing off the menu, earning himself a rather irked glare from his girlfriend.

 _Game… set… match, sweetheart_ … Nick thought with a grin.

The surprisingly stoic panda blinked twice. “Thank you, sir. Your order will be ready soon.” She bowed once more, quickly escaping to the kitchen.

As the waiter departed, Nick felt a small playful kick under the table at his shin. He shot back with a small nudge of his own. Judy returned fire. Soon, the innocent physical ribbing escalated into an all-out footsie war with neither mammal relenting. It lasted until the food arrived which promptly called for a cease fire.

Nick started on the rolls while Judy sampled her soup. “What do you want to do after lunch?” she asked sweetly.

“How about we catch a flick? I know a place that’s low key. Classic seating, retro feel. Tickets are only three bucks.”

“Oh, that sounds fun!” the bunny bounced in her seat. “Do they play classic movies?”

“On Wednesdays. Rest of the week they like to show all the movies that won awards last year.”

“Then it’s a date!” Judy replied, resting her chin against her arm while taking a sip of tea.

With a wink, Nick chomped his roll before diving into his soup. The rest of the lunch remained verbally and physically tame as the new couple attempted to behave themselves, although that didn’t stop the occasional bump or poke as they headed to their next destination. Nick resumed his guidance, navigating them through all sorts of shortcuts when they arrived at the old fashioned Howley Cinema. Judy observed the theatre’s logo was that of a wolf silhouette howling into a movie reel designed to resemble a moon.

Standing in front of the ticket booth, the duo considered their options.

Nick scratched his chin “We’ve got La La Lamb, yeah, no… Hogsaw Ridge, maybe… oh, Nocturnal Mammals, how about that one?”

“What about that movie?” Judy asked pointing to the last movie on the billboard.

“Really, Carrots? Crazy Animal City? You _would_ pick a buddy cop movie. Aren’t we living that story?” Nick teased.

Not backing down yet, Judy presented her evidence. “C’mon! I heard it’s really good! It even won an Oxcar!” The bunny leaned over to bat her eyelashes. “Please, Nick!”

“Oh, all right. Put those things away before you hypnotize someone with them,” Nick smirked while reaching for his wallet.

“Like you?” Judy hummed at Nick, her eyes briefly flicking to the violet tie he was wearing again. The fox raised an eyebrow in response. She reached over to swat his paw away from his pocket. “My treat. Let’s go.” And with that the bunny tugged the fox by his tie and walked up to the booth to purchase their tickets for the next show.

* * *

A little over two hours later, Nick and Judy were aimlessly walking down the sidewalk, holding paws. Nick was still slurping the icee Judy got him during the movie.

“I dunno if I should watch crime dramas with you anymore,” Judy huffed.

“Is it because I guessed the villain before you did?” Nick asked innocently.

“And spoiled it in my ear… dumb fox,” she grumbled. 

Despite trying to look angry, there was no real harshness in Judy’s tone. She did however feel slightly annoyed but even that was dissipating quickly. The bunny knew her partner just couldn’t help himself whenever he figured something out. Knowing his ability to read others and his superb quick-thinking are actually very valuable assets as an officer caused Judy to form a small smile as they strolled past a meandering herd of wildebeest.

Tossing his now empty cup into a nearby trashcan, Nick placed a mournful paw on his chest and flattened his ears. “I wasn’t trying to spoil it. I can’t help it if you have super bunny hearing.”

Judy glanced up with a cocked eyebrow. “I can see right through your act, Slick.”

Continuing on their meandering journey, Nick spotted a particular boutique and unexpectedly tugged Judy in that direction.

“Where are you going?” she suddenly asked, thrown by the sudden directional shift.

“Right here,” Nick announced as they stepped up to a small sunglasses hut. Moving his own aviators to the top of his head, Nick began to hunt through the available selection.

“Looking for another pair?” Judy asked while watching Nick.

“Sure am. But not for me,” he replied, disappearing behind the next rack.

Following his tail around the corner, Judy saw Nick finally pluck a smaller pair of aviators and hold the sunglasses up to examine them.

“Perfect!” Nick declared. “Carrots, come here.”

Standing next to the fox, Judy’s eyes followed the sunglasses in his paws as he hovered them over her head. “What are you...?”

Before she knew it, the bunny found herself looking at her reflection in a mirror the fox was holding, with the pair of shades over her face. Judy tilted her head in consideration and adjusted the earpieces. “Huh? I think I like it.”

Flicking his own pair back on, Nick leaned an elbow across Judy’s head, pushing her ears down and bringing his muzzle in close. “Looking good there, Officer Fluff. Just like your handsome fox of a partner. Well, almost,” Nick teased and then snapped a quick selfie, a rather big goofy grin plastered on his snout.

Judy sighed. Despite the faux mocking, the bunny did like the new look. They were frequently out in the sun so having some protection would be smart and there was no reason she couldn’t be fashionable about it either. Nick had removed his arm and busied himself with his phone. Noticing his wagging tail and furious tapping, Judy tried to get on her tiptoes to see what he was up to.

“Nick, what are you doing now?”

The fox held up a finger while making a shushing sound towards the bunny. Judy paused with her arms stretched out, waiting for Nick to finish whatever important task he was doing.

“And there,” he said with a final thumb tap, looking too proud of himself.

“Seriously. What did…?” Judy’s question was cut off when Nick’s phone beeped. 

Checking his phone with a smirk, Nick finally held it out for Judy to see. Apparently he had posted the photo to his FurBook account and already had received a comment. Of course, it was Clawhauser who was the first to like it and reply.

_Ohhhhhhhhh-M-Goodness! You guys look so chic! Tell Judy I can’t wait to see her tomorrow!_

A moment later, another beep came in. This time from Finnick.

_Bunny cop wears it better. You still look like a chump._

“Now it’s official. Even Claws and Finn agree,” Nick smiled proudly.

Shaking her head with her own smile, Judy headed to the raccoon behind the register to pay for her newly acquired accessory. After the transaction was completed, she came back to Nick and looped her paws around his arm, ready to go. Nick lifted his aviators to wink at Judy and they headed out once again, simply picking a direction at random.

A third beep came in and Judy watched as Nick checked his phone again. This time it was Mrs. Wilde who left a comment.

_I love the look you two! Have a great day together._

“You’re getting some quick replies,” Judy said.

“What can I say? Everybody loves me. Just call me Mister Popular,” Nick smirked.

Adjusting her new aviators, a devious smirk of her own formed on the bunny’s muzzle. “Hey Nick.” The fox looked down to give Judy his full attention. “Share that photo with me?”

A moment later, Judy’s phone buzzed and she checked the photo. Tapping away on her phone, the bunny finished her task and stowed the phone away, her turn to be proud of her handiwork.

“Did you like how…?” Nick began to ask only to pause when his phone beeped again. He attempted to ask his question once more when another beep came in. Then another. And several more after that. “What?”

Swiftly taking out his phone, Nick noticed the comment section exploding with replies. One bunny after another was commenting on the photo. The pace only continued to increase as more rabbits joined in the fray. Soon it became a never ending monsoon of posts. With the proverbial floodgates opened with chime after chime, the fox glanced down at the bunny on his arm who pretended to absent-mindedly hum to herself, as the beeping continued.

_Beep._

“Alright, I get it,” Nick confessed.

“Do you?” Judy lifted her aviators and gave Nick a half-lidded gaze. “That’s for almost making me trip at the bakery. And for spoiling the movie,” the doe sing-songed as she squeezed his arm.

_Beep._

“How many bunnies are gonna keep posting?” Nick sighed.

“Well, you know how many siblings I have. And I do have over seven hundred cousins, not including nieces, nephews, aunts and uncles. What’s the matter, Mister Popular? Too many adoring fans?” Judy chirped.

_Beep._

“There’s _thousands_ of you?” the fox asked incredulously.

“Actually, there’s only _one_ of me,” Judy replied proudly.

_Beep._

“Good thing. The world couldn’t handle more than that,” Nick winked as he savored making Judy’s victorious smirk falter ever so slightly, his own gaze lingering on those large doe eyes. “And you’re enjoying this too much.”

“Don’t do the crime if you can’t handle the time,” she countered with a paw on her hip.

“If my only crime is looking this good…” Nick waved the phone near Judy’s muzzle, “better lock me away for life and throw away the key, Officer Fluff.”

“Ugh.” Judy finally sighed. “I walked into that one.”

_Beep._

“And I walked into a minefield,” Nick said checking his phone for the umpteenth time.

_Beep._

“Really, now…” he drawled in defeat.

_Beep._

The bunny chuckled and pulled the fox by his tie. “Let’s go, Mister Popular.”

_Beep._

Quite a few hops, skips and beeps later, found the two off-duty partners enjoying the afternoon sunshine under the shade of several trees at a park in Savanna Central. Nick was leaning against the trunk of a tree, an arm wrapped around Judy’s petite waist as she sat comfortably in his lap, leaning against him. Their size difference making for a surprising fit. The fox had silenced his phone so they could simply enjoy some quiet time.

“Hey, Nick?” Judy spoke, craning her neck to look up at the taller fox’s muzzle.

“Yeah, Carrots?” Nick replied casually, his cheek fur bristling as her long ears brushed against them.

“Do you think we need to tell Bogo about… us?” Judy asked.

There was a moment of silence before the fox replied, his voice maintaining its usual calm and cool demeanor. “There’s nothing strictly prohibiting fraternization in the book.”

“When did you look that up?” she teased him, squeezing the paw that was keeping her warm.

“Well, I may have double-checked it when I knew I was going to tell you how I felt,” Nick replied while scratching the back of his neck.

Her nose twitched a few times. “I think we should tell him. Tomorrow before roll call. What do you think?”

“If you think it’s for the best, I’ll be right there with you. But he could try to separate us, you know.”

A fiercely optimistic expression formed on Judy’s muzzle. “I won’t let him! We can present the facts to him. You and I work our best together. We’re the same rank and our record speaks for itself!”

“I knew you’d say that, determined bunny,” Nick said catching Judy’s gaze. “If buffalo-butt doesn’t approve, we’ll just have to grab the bull by the horns and _steer_ him in the right direction.”

“Nick…” she chided him for his bad pun but still reached up to softly caress his snout. 

“Don’t worry, Carrots. I’ll behave in front of Bogo,” the fox promised with a two finger salute.

The two naturally leaned closer, their noses touching as their breathes mixed. They both held back, each trying to tease the other into closing the distance.

Some indiscernible chatter caught their attention. Peeking to the side, they saw several passing mammals either staring, pointing or whispering to one another. 

“Seems we have an audience.” Nick observed from the corners of his eyes.

“I don’t care,” the bunny replied with an inviting low tone, deciding to make the first move and pull the fox closer into a sweet and simple kiss.

* * *

Back at Nick’s apartment, Judy was lazily nestled against the arm cushion of the large couch, her legs lay across Nick’s lap, his tail resting under her arms, while he was reading a copy of Pred but Not Forgotten: Stories from the World of Sookie Stackmouse. A perk of his mom still working as a librarian was that he could get any book he wanted. It was Judy’s turn to spend a little time on her phone answering several texts that she would get throughout the day from various members of the Hopps family.

Taking a moment, Nick glanced over at Judy who was apparently biting her lip and utterly lost in a rapid texting conversation.

“Looking really engaged there, Carrots,” Nick said from behind his book.

“I’m talking to my sister, Violet!” Judy said as she fired off another message. “She was asking about you… well, you and me.”

“Really? You are mentioning how I swept you off your feet, right?” Nick said while closing the book, his curiosity now diverted to this little conversation. “Gotta keep the facts straight.”

“Oh, har-har, Catsanova,” the bunny replied wryly, giving her partner a sarcastic look, before it melted into a more bashful expression. “Actually, it was Violet who noticed my feelings and kinda… brought them to my attention.”

“And I thought you were the detective in the family,” Nick teased.

“Shush,” Judy said with a gentle tap of her foot against his waist. “After I put two and two together I almost took my dad’s truck again. She bought me the train ticket to come home early instead.”

Nick’s ears perked from this new information. “Is that, right? Maybe I should send her some thank you flowers.”

The implied gesture made Judy sit right up, ears erect and her nose began to twitch. “Oh, ah. You can’t do that…”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well, when a buck… ahem, a guy gives a doe flowers, it usually means…”

“I see…” Nick said scratching his chin at the implications. Then the realization hit as the fox recalled asking Bonnie herself about Judy’s favorite flowers over the phone. “Uh, Carrots… about those flowers I got you… when I said I guessed your favorites...”

“Because you asked my mom,” Judy finished for him, crossing her arms with a smile. “And she told you.”

A beat skipped between them. “Did I step out of any boundaries then?”

Sensing the genuine concern behind Nick’s eyes, no matter how neutral he tried to remain, caused Judy to shift on the couch and lean into him. “Nick, it’s okay. I told my parents yesterday.”

The fox’s eyes grew wider and he seemed to stiffen ever so slightly. “You did? How did they take the news? There aren’t gonna be any fox tasers in my future, are there?”

Judy placed a reassuring paw against his chest. “Mom knew. Dad was a little surprised. And no one is going to tase you, silly fox. If anyone tries, I’ll make them wish they didn’t know me.” She reached over to put her paw over his. “They know how much you mean to me. You’re even invited to come out to the farm next time I visit.”

Her ears twitched at the barely audible sound of his breath slowly escaping his nose. Judy felt Nick’s trepidation deflate from his body at the sound of the good news. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close, slumping down to rest his snout between her ears. “Farmer Wilde does have a nice ring to it.”

A small snort escaped from Judy. “Says the city fox who refuses to ever touch anything dirty and makes me handle it every time.”

“But you handle it so well!” Nick praised in a rather chipper tone. “I always say, leave it to the pro.”

Shaking her head, Judy mused for a moment before turning her neck to the side so she could look up at Nick. “Does your mom know?”

“Haven’t told her yet,” Nick replied. Feeling Judy’s body language tense at his answer, he immediately followed up with more information. “Only because I want it to be a surprise. You know she was probably rooting for this to happen since the day she met you.” A smug smirk formed on his lips. “Probably because she caught you always giving me elevator eyes.”

“Oh, I’m sure it was _so_ one-sided…” Judy groaned, slipping her paws between the buttons of Nick’s shirt.

Nick’s eyes widened at the sudden sensation at his sensitive midsection. “No, no, no…” 

It was too late. The predator had become the prey once again as Judy ceremoniously tickled him for all the checks his mouth always tried to cash. This continued for a good while before the bunny declared her victory and they resumed their comfortable and quiet evening activities, only this time being even closer together.

Tomorrow they would be going back on the beat, as partners in every sense of the word.

* * *

Entering the ZPD lobby, Nick stifled a yawn. It was hard enough some mornings as a nocturnal mammal to wake up ridiculously early for work, it was even worse to fight one’s own biological clock and come in even earlier than usual. But this was important. Nick’s ears turned towards the chatter ahead of him as he spied a very excited Judy and Clawhauser engaged in an animated conversation. The bubbly dispatcher was clearly happy to see his favorite officer back from her vacation.

“I see you two early birds are bright and chipper this morning,” Nick greeted as he walked up to the desk, taking a healthy sip of his coffee.

“Morning!” both bunny and cheetah chorused when they caught sight of the fox officer.

“Judy was just telling me all about her trip!” Clawhauser squealed. “I love weddings! I haven’t been to one since I was the bridesmaid at my ex’s ceremony.”

Nick and Judy exchanged awkward glances.

Taking a cue from Judy’s nervous chuckle, Nick turned back to their friend. “So Claws, oh buddy… is everyone’s favorite Chief already in this morning?”

“Oh, he sure is! Want me to page him for you guys?” Clawhauser offered.

“It’s okay, Clawhauser. Nick and I will just go knock on his door. Thank you!” Judy said and began to make her way towards the stairs.

“See ya after roll call, Claws!” Nick waved and joined Judy.

Clawhauser leaned forward on his desk watching the smallest mammals of the ZPD head up the stairs. They seemed to walk just a little bit closer than usual, tails wagging, and exchanging fleeting glances. “Awwww, they always look so cute together. Just like a real couple,” the big cheetah said to himself.

Facing the rather large stained glass door, Nick and Judy exchanged one final glance and a nod as Judy approached the door and knocked.

“Enter,” came the curt command.

Chief Bogo was sitting at his desk, thumbing through the upcoming day’s assignments. He continued to sort the papers in his clipboard, ignoring the fox and bunny as they took turns jumping into the large seat across from him.

Neatly shuffling the papers once more, Bogo meticulously placed them on his desk and turned to the two mammals in front of him. His gaze fell upon Judy, then Nick, then back to Judy. “Hopps. Welcome back from your vacation. Wilde.”

After acknowledging their presence, Judy took the lead to speak up. “Thank you, sir. I’m really happy to be back.” Despite keeping a half-scowling neutral face, even the cape-buffalo couldn’t stop the tiniest tugs of a smile. This didn’t go unnoticed to an amused Nick. He thought it was a good idea that Judy was buttering their boss up for the news. “Anyway, Nick… I mean, Officer Wilde and I would like to inform you about a… change… in our partnership. We are…”

Hesitating to find the exact right words, Judy was about to continue when Nick gently yet assertively finished her sentence.

“We’re dating now, sir,” he said in a serious tone, both paws behind his back, shoulders rolled back in a posture straighter than a yard stick, showing off his immaculately pressed field blues and spit shined badge.

“We are dating.” Judy repeated, mimicking her partner’s posture.

There was a long silence. Everyone kept their eyes forward. With the antagonizing speed of a sloth on a Sunday afternoon drive that wasn’t Flash, Chief Bogo slowly removed his glasses, nostrils ever so slightly flaring. Both fox and bunny didn’t realize they were holding their breaths.

“Hopps. Wilde. While I appreciate you two informing me of your new relationship status…” Bogo began, the words rolled off his tongue as if he wasn’t in the least bit surprised. “Whatever you both do on your own time, I don’t care.”

A wave of relief washed through the partners until Bogo’s stoney face specifically turned to Nick with a glare.

“ _But_ …” the cape-buffalo snorted, his voice becoming completely stern, and pointing a hoof at them. “I expect complete professionalism on the clock. If I so much as see or hear of your new relationship interfering with your duties or affecting your personal judgement, you both will be suspended till I assign you new partners. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, sir!” the duo acknowledged in an equally serious tone.

“One more thing,” Bogo said, this time turning his attention to Judy. “Hopps. You have been on the force longer than Wilde and will likely be up for a promotion before he is. You are aware that if you outrank Wilde, you can no longer be partners?”

Not backing down, Judy looked to Nick, then Bogo, and back to Nick again. “I understand, sir. But I know Officer Wilde will earn the same promotion too and I’ll always wait for my partner,” she declared proudly with a tiny smile forming on her muzzle. Her partner glanced down, returning the smile before maintaining his steadfast seriousness.

Crossing his arms on his desk as if he should have known without asking, Bogo waved them off. “Very well. Dismissed.”

The bunny slid off the chair first, followed by the fox. As they opened the giant door together, they paused when their names were called once more.

“Hopps. Wilde,” Bogo said as he stood, donned his glasses, and picked up his clipboard. “Best of luck to you both. Now get out of here. It’s time for assignments.”

Judy quickly hopped away while Nick slinked through sideways, giving his boss his most perfect smug grin and a lazy two finger salute before his elongated form vanished behind the closing door.

With a groan, Bogo proceeded to exit his office. “Those two are going to force me into early retirement.”

Unable to contain her bouncy excitement after the door closed behind them, Judy did a binky in the hallway. When Nick caught up to her, they shared a brief hug then raced down the four flights of stairs, making sure to beat their boss into the bullpen.

Entering the bullpen, several of the officers instantly welcomed Judy back. Nick was happy to see the timberwolves back after they were out for that recent canine flu going around. After waving and greeting everyone, the small duo took their usual seat next to McHorn. Ever so excited to be back and be partnered with Nick without issue, a very giddy Judy clasped her paws, unable to contain her jittery excitement. Nick on the other hand, casually leaned forward, waiting for the day’s assignments to arrive.

It started in the middle row, when Wolfard was the first to take notice. The dark timberwolf’s nose wrinkled at the scent. Following his nose, he found himself looking in Nick and Judy’s direction. Cocking an all-knowing eyebrow, Wolfard scrunched up some paper and flicked it at Grizzoli. The white timberwolf rubbed the back of his neck and turned around. Wolfard tapped his nose and nodded his head towards the fox and bunny.

Taking the hint, Grizzoli took a few subtle whiffs of the air and found it too. With his own wolfish grin, he turned back to acknowledge Wolfard’s discovery. Next, he elbowed Fangmeyer who scowled at her usual partner for nearly making her spill her coffee. Grizzoli nodded past McHorn and wiggled his eyebrows. A few seconds later, the tigress raised her own brow and mouthed, ‘no way!’ Grizzoli nodded and answered her question with a double thumbs up.

Soon the silent news spread like wildfire over to McHorn, Delgato, Snarlov, Higgins, Rhinowitz, and then to the other half of the room. Judy remained oblivious while Nick began to notice all the extra shuffling, grunts, pointing, and whispers. Glancing around the room, a few officers winked or offered a thumbs up when they made direct eye contact with the fox. Turning right back around, Nick faced the front of the room, his eyes no longer in their usual half-lidded smug position.

_Oh boy._

Entertaining the thought of saying something to Judy, Nick’s attempt to share his suspicions were interrupted as Bogo’s silhouette appeared through the glass in the door. The Chief briskly entered the bullpen, causing all the officers to stand and perform their ritual greeting of hoots and grunts.

“All right. That’s enough. Everyone sit,” he dismissed the room with his usual gruff.

Bogo adjusted his glasses and reported how the various efforts of the ZPD had helped reduce the crime rate in recent weeks. This news received an approving cheer from the room. Letting the officers have their moment, he then continued with the assignments. As Bogo called out his officers for their day’s tasks, each one of them made the effort to walk past Nick and Judy, slowly offering obvious smiles, winks, thumbs up, fist pumps, and playful gun gestures to the pair.

At first Judy waved to everyone, thrilled to see them again but each passing gesture caught her attention and grew her suspicions, especially when Fangmeyer strolled by and gave her a playful nudge and mouthed the words ‘Go Judy’.

“Hopps. Wilde.” The Chief’s voice snapped both mammals to attention. “Tundratown Patrol. Dismissed.”

Bogo exited the room in his usual brisk unceremonious manner, leaving the two smallest officers in the bullpen alone.

“Nick, what was that all about?” Judy asked.

“They know.”

“They know what?” Judy asked before it hit her, making her ears stand firm and redden. “Oh. Everyone?”

“Everyone,” her partner answered rather neutrally.

“ _EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!_ ”

A loud and familiar high-pitched squeal pierced through the open door from the lobby, followed by a torrent of excited exclamations.

“Definitely everyone now,” Nick drawled as he pointed a thumb to the door, his other paw remaining on his hip.

Feeling a little embarrassed, Judy rubbed her forehead. “I don’t get it. I mean it’s not like I want to keep it a secret or anything but we haven’t…”

“There’s still other scents. I put on some musk mask this morning after I showered but I probably still smell a whole lot like you and you smell a whole lot like me. And there’s… you know...”

“But…” she began to protest.

“More so than usual, ” the fox stated matter-of-factly.

“Right. Okay,” Judy sighed, acknowledging the inevitable and faced the exit. “Let’s just get to our cruiser.”

Nick peeked from behind the large wooden door, scanning the entirety of the lobby. The reception desk was surprisingly empty. “Okay, all clear.”

The officers exited the bullpen with a brisk pace, attempting to cross the large space as quickly as possible and exit the building. Just as they thought they might be in the clear, Clawhauser hopped from around the corner of his desk echoing the mother of all squeals through the entire precinct.

“Oh, oh! Nick! Judy! Is it _true!?_ Tell me it’s true!”

Sharing a sigh, the two officers exchanged glances and smiled sweetly. Slipping one paw into Judy’s, Nick gestured with the other. “Yes, Claws. It’s true.”

“Yup,” Judy added.

“Oh, this is the best day ever! I always knew it,” he giggled uncontrollably. “Wait, wait, I have to get a picture!”

Humoring their jovial friend, the couple came in close for a nice little side hug.

Snapping the photo, Clawhauser admired his handiwork. “This is too adorable. Okay! You’ll have to tell me all about this later! How it happened! Who made the first move! I want to know everything!”

“Alright, big guy. Will do,” Nick saluted.

“Nick and I better get going on our patrol.” Judy waved.

“Bye!” Clawhauser exclaimed, returning to his phone and immediately reboarding back onto the gossip train.

Making their way to the back lot, they approached the smaller cruiser parked in the far corner. A perky smile formed on Judy’s muzzle, like seeing an old friend, when Z-240 came into view. The bunny clicked the key fob to unlock the vehicle. Nick made it to the passenger side door and opened it. 

“See, Carrots,” he announced with a gesture. “I took good care of the ol’ gal.”

“Yes, you did.” Judy approved, tracing the outline of their cruiser with her eyes. Dangling the keys in her paw, she tossed them at her partner. “Catch!”

With a swift sleight of paw, Nick effortlessly caught the keys. Twirling them around his index finger, he made his way to the driver’s side with a smirk. Both mammals strapped themselves in. As Nick turned the ignition to wake the powerful engine, the two officers looked at one another and simultaneously donned their aviators. Exiting the vehicle lot, Z-240 made its way towards Tundratown.

* * *

Judy found herself scanning all of the stationary cars full of angry drivers honking and yelling at one another in the standstill traffic. What began as a nice change of pace riding shotgun and taking in the sights of the pleasant snowfall and wintry biome turned into a hot mess. Resting her chin on the palm of her paw, the bunny glanced back at her partner.

“So, about this shortcut you said would have us skip the morning rush…” Judy began, a teasing purr escaping her lips.

Despite Nick’s neutral face, she could see the tiny signs of surprise and annoyance as his ears flicked towards the sound of her unimpressed voice. “This doesn’t make any sense. There’s usually never any traffic on Snowcastle Way in the morning.”

“I’m not so sure about that Officer ‘trust me I know where I’m going’. The evidence speaks for itself.”

Nick furrowed his brow behind his aviators and remained quiet. Both mammals scanned the scene around them once more. Luckily they were on the outside lane and as soon as they inched forward enough, the fox officer suddenly pulled into an empty street-side parking spot and killed the engine.

“Nick, what are you doing?” Judy asked, lifting her own glasses to the top of her head.

“Investigating the evidence, madam,” he smirked while opening the driver’s side door. “Something must be causing this hullabaloo.” A flick of his tail and he was gone.

“Wait!” Judy yelled as she fumbled with her seatbelt for a few moments before exiting after him.

Following the shouts and honking, Officer Wilde made his way between several cars. As he passed the side of a large giraffe van, he heard some specific shouting that caught his attention.

“Hey, get off the road, you dumb kit!”

“Yeah, move it or lose it!”

“Hurry up! I’m late for work!”

Rounding the front of the van, the fox found the source of the backed up traffic. There in the middle of the street was a tiny arctic hare. The trembling white rabbit appeared to be completely frozen in place, its ears down and nose twitching, afraid to move.

“It’s a baby.” Nick whispered in shock. “How did…?” The incessant honking caused the officer to hold up his badge towards the impatient and rowdy drivers while cautiously approaching the kit. “All right, folks. Easy there.”

Judging by the rabbit’s general appearance, the small pink fluffy outfit it was wearing, and big bright blue eyes with long lashes, the officer summarized that it was likely a female bunny. Nick also noticed a charm bracelet on her left wrist. As the fox slowly inched closer, he tucked his aviators away and put a genuine smile on his face, making sure to hide his teeth. “Okay, lil squeaker…” Nick spoke in a baby voice and held out his paws. “You’re in good paws here. Officer Wilde will get you home.” 

The little bunny locked eyes with the predator moving towards her. Judy finally caught up and skidded to a halt in the snow behind Nick. The doe immediately gasped when she saw the frightened kit in the middle of the road with Nick easing up to her.

“Nick. Nick!” Judy called after her partner in a hushed tone. “Maybe you should let me handle this?”

“Don’t worry, Carrots…” Nick said with a dismissive motion. “I got this. I’m an expert with kids.”

“I know you are but she looks _really_ scared!” Judy protested.

“Just watch,” he rebuked confidently.

Ever so slowly, Nick reached out his paw in a non-threatening manner as he neared the kit, making sure to keep his claws facing towards his palm. “There. There. Now. Now. It’ll be alright, squeaker.”

The large blue eyes remained on the fox’s outstretched paw. The arctic hare’s nose began to twitch even more rapidly at the sight of her ancient predator coming closer. The shivering became so intense and a low hiss escaped its tiny mouth that gave Nick enough sense to pause. By now Judy had inched closer and was right behind him, her paw on his back, signalling her proximity. “You know, on second thought, you’re a rabbit with a hundred sisters. You should get her.”

Finding herself quickly shoved to the front, Judy glared back at Nick. “Hmmph. Suddenly not feeling so confident there, Slick?”

“I don’t want to steal your thunder on your first day back.”

Turning back to the baby hare after rolling her eyes, Judy gave her the warmest smile and cooed at the kit in her sweetest voice. “Hello.” She waved. “Hi. I’m Judy. Don’t be afraid, little one.” Seeing a familiar mammal, the little girl became more at ease, actually taking a few steps toward the other doe.

“Offer her some candy!” Nick whispered. “Kits love candy.”

Ignoring her partner, Judy was able to gently wrap her paws around the other rabbit and pick her up. “See, little one. Everything’s okay.” The baby’s apprehension began to slowly melt away as she settled into Judy’s arms.

Creeping up from behind Judy, the shiny gold bracelet caught Nick’s attention again. “I think there’s something written there.”

Curiosity got to the fox and Nick slowly reached out to examine it with one finger. He could feel the baby’s breath against his paw. Lifting the small carrot charm did in fact reveal a name. “Looks like this little squeaker’s name is Natalie.”

Noticing the predator again, Natalie’s nose twitched and she began to fidget fiercely against Judy’s chest, attempting to free herself. 

“Nick,” Judy whispered. “I think you better…”

However, poor Nick’s finger was still within an inch of the kit’s muzzle. Before Judy could finish her sentence, Natalie shrieked and lunged at him.

“OW, ow, ow, ow!” Nick yelped as the baby bunny bit into his finger with all her might and latched on.

“Nick!” Judy yelled as she tried to aid her partner who was trying to yank his paw away while still clutching the kit.

The rush of adrenaline caused instincts to take flight and the little hare let go, squirming out of Judy’s grasp with a powerful kick and immediately darted away.

“Oh no! Natalie, come back!” Judy called out after the little bunny. “Nick, c’mon!”

Officer Wilde was still nursing his aching finger between his lips, pushing himself into a sprint behind his partner as the two cops pursued the fleeing hare. Natalie was no longer in the street, dashing between several large pedestrians on the icy sidewalk, many of whom nearly tripped from trying not to step on her.

“How is she so fast?” Nick panted as he trailed behind Judy, who was steadily outpacing him.

The chase continued as the baby hare beelined right towards the Riverwalk, one of many pedestrian waterways where mammals could use floating blocks of ice to make their way around the tundra. Picking up speed, Natalie leaped across onto a large block with a polar bear occupant, dove between his legs, and leapt to the other bank.

Hot on her tail, Judy effortlessly leapt onto a smaller empty block and crossed the stream. Rounding up the rear, Nick slowed for a moment, hesitant to make the jump. Judy looked back and noticed the fox’s hesitation. “Speed up, Nick! You can make it!”

Hearing Judy’s voice, the fox grit his teeth and pushed forward with a burst of speed, jumping onto the same small block. Nearly losing his footing, Nick attempted to keep momentum and pushed himself off, barely landing on the opposite bank but lost his balance. With flailing arms and a worried scream, he began to fall toward the icy cold water, only to have his descent halted when two tiny paws grabbed his shirt with a tight grip and pulled him back in the opposite direction.

Judy groaned as she managed to lurch Nick forward with all of her weight and powerful legs but her feet slipped. The two partners fell in unison, the larger fox landing right on top of the smaller yelping bunny, burying his savior into several feet of soft powdery snow.

Petite feet and paws frantically flicked about from underneath Nick, mumbling under his collar for him to get off. Removing his snout from the snow and shaking it off, the fox officer looked up to see Natalie continue to make haste, widening the distance between them. In one swift motion, Nick pushed off on all fours, scooped Judy out of the snow, and launched them both back in pursuit. The bunny managed to gracefully land back on her feet when her partner released her, shaking the snow off her neoprene suit.

Nick shot an apology with a sheepish smile as the two partners quickened their pace. Judy gave him a mock glare, though she was thankful Nick didn’t plummet into the freezing ice, before turning her attention back to the escaping hare.

Soon they were running down another street. Passing several pedestrians and civilians, a bright yellow object caught Nick’s attention. With a devious grin, the fox skidded to a stop. A young lanky cheetah dressed in a red Pizza Den delivery outfit was removing his orders from the back of his yellow spotted snow scooter when a shiny ZPD badge was suddenly thrust into his face.

“Excuse me there, buddy ol’ pal. Officer Wilde. Need your vehicle here, it’s a police emergency. Penal code section 150 and all that jazz...” Nick ordered while hopping onto the vehicle and revved the engine.

“Huh?” the flabbergasted cheetah jumped back. “Hey! I still have pizzas to deliver!”

Quickly assessing the pizza box container on the scooter and the three large boxes in the cheetah’s paws, Nick reached into his wallet and slapped a large wad of cash on top of the stack of pizzas the young feline was holding. “Keep the change, my good mammal!”

And with that, the fox officer hit the gas, swerving the scooter around with a big splash of snow and gunned it down the street.

The cheetah blinked his eyes, staring at the money before finally slumping his shoulders. “My boss is gonna kill me…”

Slowly gaining on the kit, Judy pushed herself harder, the snow making it difficult to run faster as she sunk in with every step. She glanced back to see Nick was gone. Eyes widening at the disappearance of her partner, a dinky horn caught her attention as the bunny’s ears swiveled to the source of the sound. There was Nick brandishing his aviators on a yellow snow scooter quickly catching up to her and motioning to the basket above the scooter’s front wheel.

“Oh for the love of cheese…” Judy panted but then positioned herself, pivoting into a tall leap, landing right into the basket with perfect precision.

“Nick!” she screamed. “Where did you get this?”

“Had to level-up our odds, sweetheart,” the fox grinned.

“You are _so_ doing all the paperwork for this later! And apologizing to the poor mammal you took this from!”

“Hey, I paid for the pizzas!”

“Just go!” Judy relented and turned around, scanning the full length of the street. She spotted Natalie just up ahead. “Over there, Nick!”

Nick carefully guided the scooter along side the tiny hare as Judy leaned out of the basket, reaching out to Natalie who was just within her reach. “Almost there… just a little bit closer...”

Seeing Judy’s approaching paws, the baby arctic hare evaded to the side, tumbling down a snowy hill from the street curb into a large open field where several mammals were playing ice hockey in a small rink.

“Oh, c’mon!” Nick growled.

Thinking on her feet, Judy saw an elephant in a business suit walking with a closed umbrella like a cane. “Nick, pull up to next to that elephant and keep it steady!”

“What!?”

“Trust me,” Judy ordered.

Doing as he was told, they passed by the elephant and Judy snatched the umbrella from the unsuspecting business mammal. “My word!” the affluent elephant bellowed.

“So, so sorry! I’ll bring this back, I promise!” Judy yelled as she braced herself. 

“Now look who’s commandeering… Carrots, what are you doing?”

Before he could get an answer, Nick watched as Judy leapt out of the basket, down the hill, and popped open the umbrella. The large canopy allowed her to sail through the air as she glided in pursuit of their target.

“Crazy rabbits,” Nick muttered as he skid to a stop. He surveyed his route options and quickly hit the gas. 

Landing in the snow, Judy was only a few feet away from the baby bunny, much to it’s surprise. Closing the umbrella, Judy tried to gently approach the kit again. “Natalie, it’s okay. It’s me, Judy. Come here,” the older doe offered a pair of welcoming paws. Just as Judy was almost within reach of Natalie, a worried shout caught her attention.

“Hey, look out!”

Judy turned just in time to see a large hockey puck nearly collide with Natalie. Her fear renewed, the arctic hare leaped into the snow by the sideline and began to burrow. Judy dove in after her. Some of the bystanders watched as two small lumps raced through the snow. Natalie was the first to pop out on the far side, immediately followed by Judy. Unfortunately for the police mammal, a polar bear jogger came running by, nearly trampling her, forcing Judy to dive away. Lifting her face out of the snow, Judy frantically looked around, only to see Natalie disappear behind some shrubs and a mailbox next to the adjacent sidewalk.

With an annoyed groan, Judy crossed the distance and arrived at the shrubs. The officer surveyed the scene but there was no signs of the hare. “Where’d she go?”

At the sounds of squeaking and a car pulling away, Judy’s ears lifted up. She caught sight of Natalie on the open bed of a snow truck carrying some cut pine trees speeding away. “Oh, no!” she gasped and flashed her badge. “Police! Stop! Stop the truck!”

Judy was unfortunately too small for the moose driver to notice her due partially to the fact he was staring at his phone instead of the road. Shoulders slumping at the truck getting away, her ears twitched once more at the sounds of an approaching vehicle. Making a flashy entrance, Nick pulled up alongside his partner, splashing some snow onto the doe. “Whoopsie!”

Sparing him the glare this time, Judy shook the snow off and quickly hopped into the basket, pointing down the street. “She’s on that truck, Nick!”

Hightailing it at full throttle, Nick steered the snow scooter in pursuit. The truck had crossed two intersections ahead of them as their upcoming light was changing.

“The light’s turning red!”

“Hang on!” Nick said, swerving the scooter to make a sudden right. “I know this city like the back of my paw.”

The oblivious moose whistled as he drove, reaching down again to check a few texts on his phone. Hearing a male and female voice yelling, the driver looked up to just in time to slam his brakes, skidding to a halt just inches away from the two tiny police officers with their badges out. He gulped as he exited his vehicle with hooves up. Judy ran past the driver while Nick sauntered along the other side, making eye contact with the moose and held up his own phone, smirking and wagging a no-no finger warning about his use of a cellphone while driving.

Rounding the corner of the truck’s bed, Judy looked all around. “She’s not here!”

Hearing his partner, Nick turned away from the nervous moose and began to sniff the air. His nose wrinkled at the fading scent of fresh cut pine and he immediately dashed into the nearby alley. Noticing a red blur, Judy saw the tip of Nick’s tail disappear into the alleyway.

“Am I in trouble?”

Judy turned to the anxious truck driver. “You’re free to go, sir. But I’m only going to warn you once - no texting and driving!” the bunny officer sternly chastised before leaping into action where she had seen her partner vanish.

Natalie exited the alley and bounded down a set of stone steps leading into a small park nestled in between several businesses. Nick hopped onto the railing, sliding expertly down, giving him just enough speed to close the gap. 

A large pair of paws descended upon the baby arctic hare. “Aha! Got ya, squeaker!” 

The tiny bunny and fox slid along the snowy surface with Natalie now safely in Nick’s grasp. With a high-pitched squeak, the baby began to claw, bite, and kick in every direction, particularly at his face. Nick yipped as he lost control and the bunny landed near a neat arrangement of red splotches littering the snow field.

“HEY! Watch the product or I’ll...” came a very deep and angry sounding growl. Natalie cowered at the threatening voice and a small shadow loomed over her. It was enough to have the baby hare do a complete one-eighty, back into the arms of the fox officer still picking himself up from the snow.

The threatening growl was soon replaced by a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Ensuring he had a tight grip on the baby and away from those sharp buckteeth, Nick looked down to the source of the familiar baritone voice.

“Damn, Nick!” Finnick managed to huff out between gasps for air. “You a real daddy now?”

Frowning, Nick let out a huff. “Laugh it up, big guy.”

“Nick!” Judy finally came hopping down the stairs. “Oh, Nick! You caught her!” she said running up to her partner and checking him and Natalie over. She gingerly eased Natalie from Nick’s paws into her own before noticing the fennec fox. “Finnick! Hi!”

“Bunny cop,” he greeted back. “You coppers babysit now?”

“We found her in the middle of a street all by herself,” Judy replied while cradling and calming the arctic hare kit. Nick made sure to keep his distance this time, standing next to Finnick instead. The taller fox tenderly rubbed at the numerous scratches on his snout.

“Bet she saw Wilde’s ugly mug and ran. I know I would.”

“That’s rich coming from the guy who scared her right back into ‘the ugly mug’s paws.”

The trio noticed the baby looking around, still feeling apprehensive around the three strangers. Natalie seemed to be keeping an eye on Finnick particularly.

“You always were a chump with kids. Here. You gonna need a few of these,” Finnick said holding up several freshly frozen pawpsicles.

At that moment, both officer’s paw radios blared to life. “Dispatch to Officer Hopps and Wilde. Come in. Over.”

Nick was the first to grab his radio since Judy’s paws were occupied. “Wilde here. Go ahead, Claws.”

“Oh, Officer Wilde. We just got a report of a missing mammal in your area.”

“Wouldn’t happen to be a baby arctic hare in a pink outfit named Natalie, would it?”

“Wow! Nick, how did you know?”

“Just call me Harry Hogdini. Tell the parents we’re heading back to the station with their squeaker. Over.”

“Roger, Officer Wilde. I’ll tell the mother right away! Dispatch out.”

Watching Natalie staring again at Nick as he was talking, Finnick tapped the pawpsicles against his friend’s leg. “Here. And don’t bother reaching for your wallet. I don’t want your money.”

“Always so charitable, Finn,” Nick said as he took the three pawpsicles. The red fox turned back to the baby nestled in Judy’s arms, waving one in front of her. “Here, squeaker… look what I got for you.”

Natalie appeared perfectly still, her big blue eyes zeroed in on the tantalizing red treat. 

“That’s right,” Nick cooed. “Who’s a good baby bunny?”

Even Judy had to snicker at Nick’s cheesy voice acting as he tried to befriend Natalie. She had to admit to herself that it seemed to be working. Now the baby hare excitedly reached out for the candy goodness, eagerly waving her outstretched paws. Nick opted to tease her for a moment, pulling back the pawpsicle a couple times until Natalie hissed again, which promptly resulted in getting her prize.

“Okay, Nick.” Judy laughed. “Let’s get her back to the cruiser.” She offered a small wave to fennec fox. “Bye Finnick! Thank you for the treats.”

Nick followed a short distance behind, giving his old friend an overhead wave. “Take care, tough stuff.”

“Ciao,” Finnick said, shaking his head when a different scent caught his attention. After a few whiffs, the fennec turned to watch his two friends leave, his eyes going from Nick, to Judy, and back to Nick. “Bout time, you dumb chumps,” he grinned to himself. Finnick headed back to his van so he could grab the ice box and load up his latest batch of finished pawpsicles. 

Back at Z-240, Judy was attempting to strap Natalie in safely but they had no special car seat for a baby. She glanced over at Nick who was still cautiously rubbing his aching snout. Natalie was chomping away, almost done with her first pawpsicle, the red sugary goodness staining her lips a bright crimson.

“Nick, do you think you could hold Natalie?”

The fox raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“I think it’s okay now. Just give her another pawpsicle when she’s done. Come ride shotgun and I’ll drive.”

“If you say so, boss.”

Nick was now back in his usual seat with a preoccupied Natalie in his lap. Surprisingly the baby hare really did ignore him completely. Her whole world right now was the nearly eaten delicious treat in her paws. Judy hopped into the driver seat and opened the middle cabin compartment. Digging around, the bunny found what she was looking for.

“Lean over to me, Nick,” she ordered while peeling away at something in her paw.

“Why Officer Hopps… I thought we were ordered to behave while on duty,” Nick smirked, doing as he was told. “And with a baby in the car…”

“You wish, Officer Wilde,” she teasingly scolded her partner before reaching out and putting a few bandages on his scratches.

Looking right down the middle of his snout with crossed-eyes, Nick raised his brow. “You _would_ have bandaids with carrots on them.”

“Would you like me to rip them off then?” Judy asked in a rather pleasantly sweet but underlying threatening tone.

“I’m good.”

“Good.” Strapping herself in, Judy hit the ignition and merged safely into the moving traffic, making haste back to the station.

* * *

Back at Precinct One, Nick and Judy entered the rotating lobby doors. Across the busy atrium, they spotted a well-dressed white doe anxiously waiting next to Clawhauser’s desk. The officers approached the rabbit.

“Ma’am.” Nick announced, holding an excited Natalie out as far away as he could, who was blissfully chomping away at a pawpsicle that was half her size. “Is this yours?”

“Natalie! Oh my precious Natalie! I thought I’d lost you forever!” the mom exclaimed, grabbing her child out of Nick’s paws and hugging her fiercely.

The partners exchanged a small smile. 

“Officers, thank you. Thank you so much!” the jubilant mother expressed.

“You’re welcome, ma’am,” Judy said.

“It’s no problem, Mrs...”

“Hareris. Emily Hareris.”

Noticing a few carrot-themed bandages on the fox officer’s snout, the mother leaned forward with a worried expression. “Oh my. Did my Natalie do that, officer?”

Caught off guard, Nick looked to Judy and back. “No, Mrs. Hareris… I um, tripped in the snow.”

It was hard for Judy to suppress a chuckle at her partner’s lame excuse. Nick simply put his paws behind his back and smiled.

“Oh.” Emily paused for a moment before her appreciation returned. “Please tell me how can I repay you both? My husband has a fruit basket business. Would you like a lifetime supply of fruit baskets? We also make fruitcakes. Would you like those instead?”

Nick stifled a grimace at the mention of the latter option. “That won’t be necessary Mrs. Hareris. It’s what we do at the ZPD.” He gave Judy a particular glance, which she returned with an appreciative and proud smile, gently placing a paw on his arm.

The mom reached out to shake their paws. “Thank you both again. I’ll be sure to write City Hall about what wonderful officers you both are!” 

Squeezing her daughter once more. “Say bye to the nice officers, Natalie.” The baby hare paid no mind as she continued to gnaw viscously on her pawpsicle. The white doe gave a small wave and left. “Goodbye!”

“Bye!” Judy waved.

“Bye now. Good luck with _that_ one!” Nick said. This earned him a light tap from Judy on his arm.

“Not a bad start to the day, huh Slick?” Judy asked, proudly placing her paws on her hips.

“Yeah… but I have this feeling we’re forgetting something,” Nick mused while scratching his chin. 

Judy furrowed her brow in thought. “Oh my gosh!” she gasped. “The scooter! Where did you take it from!?”

“Uh… Flurry Street?” Nick guessed, shrugging his shoulders before another realization clicked in his brain. “At least we don’t have to worry about that umbrella, right?”

Judy was now pulling her ears over her eyes at the reminder.

“Nooo…” she groaned. “We need to go back and return them! Right now!” Judy pointed, yanking her partner by the arm and hurriedly led Nick away to the vehicle lot.

Meanwhile back on the snowy street corner of Flurry and Arendelle, the cheetah delivery mammal sat with a pizza slice in one paw, while chewing another nearly eaten slice with a heavy sigh. “I’m so getting fired…” he mumbled looking at the next slice. “That cop paid for these. Might as well eat’em.”

* * *

The end of their first shift together as more than partners found both fox and bunny back at Nick’s apartment after a short pitstop at Judy’s place.

Nick sighed with closed eyes, his neck craned over the back of his couch while spreading his arms across it after he unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and loosened his tie. “All that paperwork should be a crime.”

“Maybe if _somefox_ hadn’t taken that poor cheetah’s scooter,” Judy teased, her visible ears coming around the corner of the large couch with some drinks. 

“Hey, we had the need for speed. Besides, I sweet-talked his boss and told her he was performing his civic duty,” Nick said while leaning forward again. “At least we found _my_ guy right away, little miss Evel Bunievel.”

Judy frowned and aggressively placed her paws on her hips, trying to hide her embarrassment. “Hey! We found mine too… eventually.”

“By the end of our shift, after asking every elephant we saw in a suit,” he teased while rolling his left shoulder and rubbing the area along his neck with his other paw.

“Are you okay?” Judy asked, putting the tea down on the coffee table and hopped up onto the cushions so she could stand and be eye level with Nick.

“Just some aches. Never thought baby bunnies could be such a pawful,” Nick said.

Judy laughed. “Try dealing with a couple hundred.”

“I dunno how your mom must do it,” Nick said with a genuine curiosity. “Were you like that?”

“I don’t remember. Mom never told me what I was like at that age,” Judy mused.

“You probably scarred her for life,” he smirked. This got Nick a glare. He did have a quota to maintain after all.

“Keep talking Slick and we’ll see how you handle my brothers and sisters when we visit my family,” Judy said leaning in real close. Lowering her voice into a whisper. “Or how they’ll handle you.”

Raising his eyebrows, Nick’s brain visualized a horde of small rabbits rushing him as he ran for his life. He decided to say nothing for once and keep rubbing his shoulder. He stopped when he felt Judy’s paws clasp his own and remove it. She reached into his collar and tried to mimic what he was doing.

“Wait, wait. Not like that…” he said with a heavy intake of breath, instinctively reacting to the pressure point. 

“Sorry,” Judy frowned. “Can you show me how? I’ve never done this before.”

Now it was Nick’s turn to gently take her petite paws in his and placed them in the correct spot as he turned to face the other direction. “Right here. Make a cup shape with your paws.” Judy did as she was instructed. “Fingers straight. Don’t squeeze. Plunge your thumbs forward and pull your fingers back. Draw the muscle towards your palm. Circular motions.”

With a small awkward start, Judy furrowed her brow. She was determined to get this right. As she began to get the hang of the correct motion, her efforts were rewarded as Nick’s shoulders slowly slumped down, greatly relaxing into her touch.

“Mmm, yeah. That’s the stuff right there,” he exhaled slowly with closed eyes.

Noticing her paws continue to hit his tall collar, Judy stopped for a moment, unbuttoning his shirt further much to Nick’s surprise. “Collar’s in the way,” she stated, earning a nod from Nick. Once that obstacle was removed, she continued to massage his neck and even moved over to his trapezius and shoulder blades. It was kind of fun and empowering to watch Nick turn into putty in her paws. 

As she continued, Judy noticed the lean but firm predator muscle built into Nick’s upper torso and limbs. His ZPA training and current gym routine was certainly doing wonders for him. The bunny couldn’t help but stare and let her fingers feel all around his soft skin and thick fur. It reminded her of the time Nick massaged her own shoulder when that bullet had grazed it. Judy’s own breath became less steady and the room was feeling a little warmer than before.

She was snapped out of her vivid memory when she felt something brush repeatedly against her legs. Looking down, Judy saw Nick’s tail wagging to and fro. The distraction brought her back to the present and allowed Judy to work out all the kinks and knots she could find for several more minutes.

Nick felt so relaxed that he completely slumped backwards, gently stopping against Judy as she slipped her arms around his chest to catch him, and craned his neck to gaze at her. “That hit the spot. You’re a natural, Carrots.” Nick’s wide smirk aggravated the scratches on his snout causing him to wince. “Ow, ow, ow.”

“Still hurts?” Judy asked tenderly, looking at the bandages.

“Guess I better not smirk.”

“That’d be a first. Let me see.” The doe reached over and gingerly caressed around the bandages trying to soothe the pain away. “Better?”

“Mmm,” Nick closed his eyes and hummed in delight at the velvety touch of Judy’s paws. “Maybe if you kiss the boo-boos too.”

Shaking her head at her boyfriend’s cheesy sappiness, Judy did in fact lean in and plant a few tiny kisses trailing along his snout.

“Think you missed a spot.” Nick pointed. He couldn’t resist a tiny smirk, doing his best not to aggravate the scratches.

The doe continued with a couple more kisses.

“More.”

“Now who’s milking it, greedy fox?” she whispered in his ear.

“Can you blame me?” he said as he partially opened one flirty eye to meet Judy’s gaze.

Her reply was a quick peck on his lips before nestling herself in front and reaching for both cups of tea and inviting Nick to take his. “I suppose I can't. But next time it’s my turn.”

“Deal,” he winked.

Nick took the tea and sipped it, already feeling much better. Wrapping his other arm around Judy, the two mammals sat comfortably together for some time. Soon a conversation was struck and the two began a friendly debate on what show or movie to watch that evening. In the end, they decided it was Nick’s turn to choose something and Judy ordered take-out. Once the two got settled in, Nick fired up a few episodes of It’s Always Sunny in Sahara Square.

* * *

The week continued with several mundane assignments and less than exciting shifts, which was all fine for Officer Wilde because the big day had finally come. He sauntered into the bullpen a little bit later than usual. Judy was already in their shared seat waiting for his arrival.

WIth one smooth practiced motion, Nick landed in his half of the giant chair.

“Morning!” came the extra energetic greeting.

“ _Somebunny_ is looking really excited today,” he whispered into her ear with a wink.

Before Judy could reply, Chief Bogo made his entrance sending the entire bullpen into its rowdy morning ritual chant. He swiftly silenced his officers and placed his clipboard on the podium.

“I’ve got several items on the docket today, so we better _hop_ to it. Judy.” Suddenly everyone’s eyes were on the tiny rabbit officer, causing her to stand stiffly at full attention. Nick seemed extra amused at the chief’s pun attempt and his partner’s reaction. “Happy birthday.”

The entire room exploded in cheers, howls, claps, roars, and hoots. McHorn gave Judy a friendly nudge and Nick squeezed her paw under the table, a gesture she happily returned as the two shared a smile.

Naturally Nick had to turn his attention back to their chief. “You really _lassoed_ that one in, sir.”

“Shut it, Wilde!”

As if the room wasn’t making enough of an uproar, Nick’s usual brand of snark only made it worse. Allowing the levity to run its course, Bogo was ready to get back to business.

“Enough! Number two. A few precincts are short-staffed today. Officers Andersen, Jackson, and Krumpansky, head to Precinct Two. Officers Simmers and Johnson, you two will be assisting Precinct Five.”

The various offers stood and exited the room on their way to their vehicles.

“Assignments. Officers Grizzoli, Fangmeyer, Delgato… Rainforest Traffic Section. Officers Wolfard, Snarlov, Higgins… Canal Marine Patrol. Officers McHorn and Rhinowitz… Tundratown SWAT.”

As the officers on the left half of the bullpen stood, they all came by the front row to personally wish Judy a happy birthday before leaving.

“Hopps. Wilde. We have some reports of increased pickpocketing on the Sahara Strip. Patrol the area and look for any suspicious activity. Dismissed.”

Later that day, Judy maneuvered their cruiser through the avenue as they circled the strip, keeping an eye out for any daring thieves. Nick sat in his seat casually, window rolled down with his elbow hanging as he sipped an iced mocha. 

“From the freezer into the frying pan,” he spoke, watching the crowds as they milled about their business. Nick glanced at Judy. She was mostly focused on the road and watching the other side of the street. “I still can’t believe you didn’t take today off, birthday bunny.”

“I’ll have you know this is exactly where I want to be!”

“Sweating in a hundred degree borough looking for petty crooks?”

“Doing my _dream_ job with a certain fox I know,” she replied, taking her eyes off the road and leaning forward with a beaming smile.

Nick smirked at that. Happy to be there with Judy too. “Well, that certain _dreamy_ fox wants to know if we’re going to paint the town _gray_ tonight?”

The bunny shook her head. “Actually, I was thinking a nice quiet evening would be fine. Just the two of us,” Judy said. “I might have to block off an hour or two after work for my family though. I know my parents will call later.”

“And you probably already have a thousand texts waiting for you,” Nick said, casually looking at his paw while picking at a nail. He shifted under his seat belt to face his partner. “How about this… let me take you out for a bite. I know a place.”

“And you probably know a mammal too,” Judy chuckled, changing lanes to pass a slower vehicle.

“Only a bunny. The one I insist says yes. Whaddya say, Fluff?” Nick asked while leaning his chin on the top of his paw over the middle compartment, giving Judy his best disarming smile.

“You know what?” Judy began to contemplate with lidded eyes. “Yes. Let’s go to this _place_ of yours. Think we can go at six?”

Getting Judy’s buy-in, Nick leaned back to his side and immediately began to type away at his phone. “Six is perfect.”

Keeping her eyes forward, Judy’s ear swiveled towards Nick as the fox was pecking at his phone with increased frequency. She was about to ask what he was doing when she spied a short teen wolf who appeared to be shadowing a dapper looking pair of sloths. Slowing the cruiser’s speed, Judy observed the intensity of the young wolf’s stare and how his eyes darted to the purse and back pockets of the slow moving mammals.

“Hey Nick?”

Nick was still occupied with his phone. “Hmm?”

“What would you say about a wolf in a hundred-degree borough wearing a thick jacket?”

“I’d say he’s either trying to sweat a few pounds…” the former con began while putting the phone away. “Or he might use it to hide something.”

Judy pulled the cruiser to the other side of the street behind some vehicles to avoid detection. Both officers quickly exited their patrol car and sneaked their way back across the street and through the crowd towards their suspected perp.

Back at the station, Clawhauser was excitedly sending a deluge of texts, giggling frantically to himself. He almost got caught a few times when Chief Bogo made his usual rounds of the building but the risk was worth it. Taking a break, the jovial cheetah sent out a few new reports to the appropriate units and called in some backup that was requested by McHorn. 

A fresh commotion at the entrance caught Clawhauser’s attention. His face lit up at the sight of Nick and Judy, both still wearing their aviators, bringing in a cuffed and somber looking teenage wolf. They arrived at the desk to begin the booking process.

“Got ourselves one bold pickpocket,” Nick announced, nudging the perp forward and lifted his aviators over his head. “Right here.”

“Oh, you guys caught him so fast! Let me call Annie to take him over to processing,” Clawhauser said.

Within moments, a blonde female pig officer appeared to escort the thief away. The wolf was grumbling and growling some choice expletives under his breath about being caught by a bunny and a fox cop as he was being led away.

Nick leaned against the round reception desk, paws in his pockets, and met Judy’s gaze. “Boy, thinking he could steal in broad daylight… it’s a dog’s life, huh?”

Removing her own pair of aviators, Judy crossed her arms. “Well, there’s not a petty thief who doesn’t have a wolf in his belly.”

“Sitting in a cell tonight, won’t be able to cut his wolf loose,” Nick replied.

“He won’t be top dog anymore,” Judy pointed out.

“Just wolfin’ down jail food.”

“Nick... “ Judy chuckled, now uncrossing her arms. “I think that’s enough. You can have this round. We have paperwork to do.”

“You’re no fun,” he winked. “Still had a few good ones on the tip of my tongue.”

“I’m sure you did, c’mon,” Judy said while placing a paw on his arm as she headed towards their shared cubicle desk.

Pushing himself from the reception desk, Nick twirled around to make direct eye contact with Clawhauser. The bubbly cheetah held up a navy envelope and wiggled it. Winking in confirmation, Nick pivoted on his foot and picked up his pace to catch up with Judy.

* * *

Being able to finish their shift early enough, Nick was back at home, rummaging through his closet looking for a particular article of clothing. He finally found his prize. A dusty, old, slightly tan colored blazer. Nick checked it over to make sure there wasn’t any rips or tears and hung it onto one of his outside coat racks and proceeded to give it a little sprucing up. 

The old coat brought back memories of when he and Finnick first got caught up with Mr. Big. Nick had used this same coat to hide a shoplifted blue rodent convertible behind a distracted moose car salesmammal that he needed to sell to one of Big’s buyers. It was not one of his proud moments in life. Ears flattened at the thought before shaking it away. Now this blazer had a new job tonight.

It was about a quarter till six o’clock and Judy would be coming soon. Nick put on the finishing touches, checking himself over in the mirror. A knock at the door alerted him that the birthday bunny had arrived. A smile on his face, Nick exited through his office and tucked the envelope safely into his coat. Opening the door revealed his girlfriend with a nice dark jacket covering her blue blouse and black pair of jeans.

“And there she is!” Nick announced.

“Hey!” Judy waved. Noticing the blazer, she raised an eyebrow and slowly eyed Nick from head to toe.

“Why madam… are you already undressing me with your eyes?” he said leaning against the door frame. “You could at least wait till after our date.”

Derailing Judy’s train of thought, she blushed for a moment before recovering and put a paw on her hip. “Or maybe I’m just wondering what kind of awful and loud shirt you’re wearing underneath,” she said, poking him in the side. “I’ve never seen that jacket before. Won’t you be too hot?”

Seeing an opportunity, Nick proceeded with his deflections. “First off, I’m always red hot. Second, I’ll have you know, that my awfully loud shirts I know you secretly love are one hundred percent silk. Just lets the fur breath! Besides…” he gestured to his blazer. “This will keep me dry.”

“Dry?” Judy blinked, focusing on his last words.

Nick grabbed a medium-sized umbrella leaning by the doorway and stepped out into the hallway. Locking his door, he held out his elbow to the bunny. “It’s why I told you to bring a jacket. Shall we?”

Knowing Nick would probably continue to be elusive, Judy hooked her arm around his and decided to see where this evening would take them. The couple headed northwest to the edge of Downtown. Arriving at the border, the pair got in line to wait for the Rainforest sky tram. Now Judy understood Nick’s suggestion to bring some coats along with his umbrella. Once they were skybound, Judy and Nick took in the vista of the urban skyline transitioning against the fading sun with the arrival of the city’s nightlife beginning to dot the sky with flickering lights.

Exiting onto the pier at Canopy Lane, they proceeded through the steamy wet climate and lush vegetation among the treetop buildings, moving with the crowds along the large wooden boardwalk. The two eventually arrived at a small commercial market located on the edge of a giant east-facing tree. From a short distance, Judy’s ears detected the sounds of dining activity and singing. Pushing past several hanging mossy vines and giant leaves revealed where the noise was coming from, a sign overhanging a door reading Misty’s on the Vine.

The restaurant and canopy bar showcased a tiki and jungle theme with classic matching decor, large blazing torches, and vibrant floral colors. 

“This place looks really fun!” Judy said, looking up at Nick who simply smiled back.

There was only a short line to the reception stand. Nick plucked his phone out when Judy wasn’t looking and sent a quick text before putting it away. Greeting the jaguar host, Nick dexterously slipped a note on the desk. The jaguar skimmed the message and grinned, pointing him to the appropriate location.

With a thank you wink, Nick placed his larger paw on the small of Judy’s back and led her away. 

“Aren’t they gonna seat us?” she asked confused.

“It’s self-seating. We can find a nice view back here,” Nick explained.

The fox and bunny walked up to a larger doorway with beads draping the entry. Nick paused for a moment, casually tapping his foot three times. He turned to Judy with a wicked smirk.

“What?” she asked him, curiously leaning her head to the side.

“And…” Nick began and pulled the beads apart in one swift motion.

“SURPRISE!” came a chorus of many voices, revealing several coworkers and friends inside the reserved space.

Judy’s eyes and ears shot upwards while her paws found their way over her gaping mouth. There inside the room was Clawhauser, Fangmeyer, Grizzoli, Wolfard, Delgato, McHorn, Brian, Valerie, and Mrs. Wilde.

“Oh, you guys…” Judy sniffled, happy tears beginning to pool along her eyes. She snapped to Nick, an iron grip clutching his arm. “Did you do this?”

Still holding the curtain beads open, Nick simply gestured to the room with his other paw. “Can’t take the credit for this one. It was all Claws. I just helped pick the place.”

Running into the room, Judy gave the big bubbly cheetah quite the squeeze. “Thank you so much, Clawhauser!”

“Oh, you’re so very welcome, Judy!” he hugged his favorite little officer back.

After being released, Judy began to greet and thank everyone who came one by one, occasionally wiping away at her misty eyes. Nick eventually slipped into the room and stood next to his mom.

“Bunnies. So emotional, right?” he said leaning in.

“Wouldn’t kill you to show some yourself from time to time, Nicholas,” she teased him. “How are you, sweetheart?”

“Couldn’t be any happier, Mom.” 

The tone of his voice and her son’s choice of words caused Mrs. Wilde’s ears to flick with curiosity. Before she could further muse on the subject, Judy had found her way over to them. 

“Thank you for coming, Mrs. Wilde,” the bunny said with clasped paws in front of her.

“You know I wouldn’t miss it, dear,” the elder vixen replied and kneeled down to give Judy a warm embrace.

Brian and Valerie scooted over so they could greet Nick after saying hi to Judy before she came over to Mrs. Wilde.

“Nick!” Valerie said, offering him a brief hug. “I see you survived till Judy came home.”

“Hey Red!” Brian said with a hearty pawshake.

“Val. Nose. Glad you two could make it,” Nick genuinely smiled.

“This one had to con his chief into giving him the night off. I think we might be rubbing off on him,” Valerie said while scratching under Brian’s muzzle.

“Are you saying we’re bad influences, Val?” Nick feigned. “Because if so, you’re right.” This earned a snicker from both the vixen and the timberwolf. “So how are Phil and EJ doing?”

“Their arraignment was a few days ago. They pleaded guilty to the crime and the trial will be coming up soon. I looked into a few charities and causes and helped EJ’s father and his aunt raise enough money for bail so at least the boys aren’t sitting in jail for the time being.”

“Thanks again for that.”

“Happy to help,” Valerie nodded.

Clawhauser got everyone’s attention and announced that the drinks and appetizers had arrived and to get the party started! All of the mammals shuffled about to get their seats. 

“Let’s catch up after some grub.” With a little goodbye salute, Nick went to find his seat next to Judy. 

“Hey, babe…” Brian whispered excitedly.

“Why are you whispering?” Valerie asked, leaning closer to her boyfriend.

“I think it’s happened.”

Valerie immediately snapped her eyes to Judy, then Nick, then back to Judy again. “Oh my god, are you serious!?” she nearly squealed.

“The Nose, knows,” Brian said lamely, his attempt at some bad humor.

“You’ve been hanging around Nick at work, haven’t you?” she nudged the timberwolf.

“You’re the one who asked me to keep a _nose_ on things tonight.”

“I plead the fifth. Let’s go grab our seats,” Valerie chuckled, grabbing Brian by the arm before heading to the large table.

Drinks and food arrived and the small family of mammals dug in for the celebration. Fangmeyer and Grizzoli brought their police radios with them so that a few other officers who couldn’t make the dinner radioed in their wishes to Judy. The bunny couldn’t have been more in awe at the gesture. Soon it was time for the cake to arrive. As the elephant waitress brought in the massive carrot cake, Nick signaled a paw for her to wait a moment.

“Before we do the cake,” he said aloud, standing up from his seat. “We have something for the birthday bunny!” He reached into his coat and withdrew a navy envelope.

A surprised Judy took the large envelope and tore it open, revealing a glittery ClawMark birthday card. The front cover read ‘Birthday Doe on the Loose’. Curiously, she opened it and the card immediately began to play a dramatic crime drama theme followed by a very serious sounding voice. 

_Calling all cars. We got a birthday doe on the loose. Reports of some possible fun and party action in progress. Numerous perpetrators may be involved. Be advised, subject is to be considered cute and adorable. Over._

Everyone snickered or laughed at the ridiculous card. Judy was giggling alongside everyone too until it got to the ‘cute’ part which immediately made the bunny frown and shoot a glare right at Nick who was now behind her, paws resting on the back of her chair. Not denying the implication that he was guilty for choosing the card, he simply shrugged, offering one of his usual smirks.

The birthday doe in question decided to let him have that one. Returning her gaze upon the card, Judy saw so many wishes and signatures signed all throughout including a few surprise ones from Finnick and Flash. 

“Thank you everyone,” Judy said, tightly hugging the card against her chest after she finished reading every note.

“Shall we?” Nick waved at the waitress who set the very large cake down in front of Judy. 

It was decorated with a ZPD badge in the middle and lots of carrot-shaped frosting all around with twenty-six candles. Judy needed to stand in her seat so she could even reach the candles. 

The guests waited to sing, looking at Nick to signal them to begin. Noticing their gaze, Judy turned around. Behind her, Nick was fiddling with a phone. A phone that wasn’t his. It was her phone. Instantly checking her back pocket and finding it empty, she raised her brow at her partner.

“Nick, what are you doing with my phone?”

A single finger silenced her question as he turned the phone around. There was a large portion of her family, all gathered around inside the main Hopps living room on MuzzleTime ready and waiting. “And…” he announced loudly for all to hear, moving his other paw like a conductor.

Everyone at the table and on the phone began to sing happy birthday to Judy. She nearly melted on the spot, one paw over her heart, the other reaching out to touch the side of Nick’s snout. When the song ended, everyone - especially the young rabbits on the phone yelled for her to make a wish. Thinking for a moment, Judy glanced back, making eye contact with Nick before brushing her ears back, closing her eyes, and blowing out all twenty-six candles in one breath. A barrage of cheers and claps followed along with a very eager Clawhauser ready to cut the cake.

The cake didn’t last long. At all. Every single slice was gone within minutes. The rest of the party continued in a more relaxed manner as several guests enjoyed some chit chat and a drink after filling their bellies to the brim. Nick was off to the side, leaning against a rail with Brian, Wolfard, and Grizzoli. The small pack were watching the karaoke stage as Judy, Fangmeyer, Valerie, and even Mrs. Wilde sang along to a few Catty Perry, Destiny’s Cub, and Gazelle songs. Clawhauser was right there in front cheering the ladies on and occasionally joining in.

“Valerie sings really well,” Grizzoli complimented. “Though I think Stephanie could use a few lessons. Don’t tell her I said that!”

“Thanks buddy,” Brian said while downing his shot. “Yeah, Valerie can really project. You should hear her in the courtroom. She’s even made a few judges three times her size squirm. And when she’s mad at me...”

This made the two timberwolves from Precinct One snicker. Nick just smirked, continuing to listen to the ladies sing. Grizzoli was right about Valerie. His Mom wasn’t too shabby either. Fangmeyer was a bit out of tune and Judy… as much as he loved the sound of her voice, singing was definitely not one of her strongest traits. Not that he should probably dare mention that to her. At the very least not today.

Wolfard had remained quiet for most of the conversation, as he prefered to be low-key. However, tonight’s festivities made the officer reflect on the previous year. “You know, I’m glad Clawhauser organized this for Judy.”

“Me too,” Grizzoli added.

Nick glanced at his fellow officers. Reading their eyes and body language piqued the former con’s curiosity. “Penny for your thoughts, Wolfie?”

Downing the remainder of his drink, Wolfard leaned back on the rail as well. He contemplated his thoughts for a moment before speaking. “Dunno if Judy ever told you Nick, but this time last year was pretty rough. All those riots and protests when predators were still going savage...”

Nick did in fact remember. It wasn’t one of his fondest memories either.

The darker timberwolf sighed, his ears going flat. “A lot of the guys in the bullpen weren’t too happy with Judy. Word spread pretty quick around the precinct about what she said on the news. No one wanted to partner up with her after that.”

That bit of information hit home for the fox. “I didn’t exactly help on that front either,” Nick replied in a quiet solemn tone.

“We saw her constantly asking the Chief for extra assignments she could help with, even after she finished her own,” Wolfard continued. “And when we were all giving her the cold shoulder, she still offered to help us with anything. She was the first one in and the last one out. Working doubles. Every. Single. Day. Never taking a day off. Even for her birthday like today.”

Nick’s own ears now lay flat against his head. The fox knew about the rallies and the tension that had seeped into every corner of Zootopia at the time. He had expected that Judy would have been in the thick of it but she never once told him about her experiences during their time apart.

“As things got worse, she even got sent to the hospital once for breaking up a fight between two big mammals all by herself at a rally,” Wolfard said.

Subconsciously, Nick’s hackles rose at the idea of Judy being sent to the hospital.

Noticing Nick’s reaction, Wolfard immediately put up his paws. “Nothing serious, luckily. She was back the next day, no complaints. Then one morning… she… just wasn’t there. It was the day after Clawhauser got moved to records. Bogo told us she quit.”

A reflective silence remained between the four predators. 

Grizzoli was first to break the ice. “Yeah. I didn’t know what to think when I heard about that. I felt bad. So did Steph.”

“I think we all did,” Wolfard said. He turned to Nick, a smile finally appearing on his much larger muzzle. “We were too caught up in everything to say anything before it was too late. Then you two showed up again a couple days later and found Bellwether behind it all.”

“We were all thankful for that,” Grizzoli said patting Nick on the back. “It made us realize how wrong we were. Especially about Judy.”

“Yeah,” Wolfard agreed, putting a paw on Nick’s other shoulder.

“I’m sure Carrots knows,” Nick said gently, sharing a smile with the group. “Besides, we couldn’t let you guys have all the glory. Bringing down criminal masterminds is our specialty.”

Brian, who had simply stayed quiet, intently listening to the group’s conversation grinned at Nick’s quip. Even Wolfard had to snicker at that one.

“Hey, how about we go join the ladies for a round?” Grizzoli suggested with a chuckle. “I can do a mean Kanine West.”

“Now _this_ I gotta hear,” Nick said, ears perking up as the four officers headed over to the stage.

The evening’s party soon came to an end. Everyone slowly said their goodbyes with pawshakes or hugs and made their way home. Judy and Nick were left standing outside the restaurant, Nick behind her with one paw on a shoulder, the other holding an umbrella.

“That was so nice,” Judy said, leaning backwards into the fox’s torso.

“Better than your idea of staying home?”

“I’ll admit it was better, you sly fox.”

Heading back to the gondola, Nick and Judy waited on the platform for the next sky tram to come around. Lost in thought about the party, the bunny hadn’t realized they were waiting for a different tram until they boarded the sky car.

“Nick, isn’t this the wrong way?” Judy asked, noticing they were heading northwest instead of southeast.

Checking the time on his phone, Nick gave her a suspicious smile. “We have one more stop to make tonight.”

“Nick, this was already wonderful. You don’t have to do anything else for me.”

“Too late now.” he smirked, leaning an elbow on the rail.

“And you’re not going to tell me where we’re going,” Judy said crossing her arms.

“You’re learning quick, sweetheart.”

Judy sighed.

As the sky tram sped along its zipline, Judy watched the fake rainfall from the environmental sprinkler system that was built to mimic the atmosphere of a real rainforest. As they passed several pier stops, an all too familiar name caught her attention. Off to her side, they traveled past Tujunga. 

Past memories rolled through Judy’s mind. Following the lead to meet Manchas, being chased by the jaguar when he had gone savage, Nick refusing to leave her behind at the sky car even when she had ordered him to get away, cuffing Manchas in order to save Nick, swinging from the vines after they fell and nearly plummeted to their deaths, then facing Bogo when Manchas had mysteriously disappeared. Then came the moment when Bogo demanded her badge and just when she was about to unhook it, thinking her career was over, Nick had suddenly intervened, defending her and buying them more time. Everything had changed between them ever since.

Judy looked back over her shoulder to see Nick casually looking out beyond the rail, leaning on criss-crossed arms. He was lost in thought, staring at nothing in particular, just like back then. She silently moved closer and wedged herself between his arms, snapping him back to reality as he was left wondering what she might be doing. Judy took his larger arms and wrapped them around her like a blanket, nestling back into his torso. 

Now the two lovers found something better to gaze upon than back then… each other. Nick gave Judy a squeeze and settled his chin atop her head, between her ears. It was becoming one of his favorite things to do. The bunny planted a few light kisses against his downier neck fur, giving him a tickling sensation that made Nick shift his weight, much to Judy’s delight.

The sky car reached its apex and began its descent. Shuttling through the district, slowly the rainforest trees were fading away, revealing a clear and open night sky with the early moonlight streaking across a large body of water. They were entering the Canal District. Judy’s mind raced at the possibilities of what Nick still had in store for her here. Knowing it was futile to even bother harassing him, she calmed her impatience, instead settling for gazing upon the small islands below them.

Reaching their destination, the two hopped out of the gondola. They were on one of the larger land masses in the district’s large bay across from the Marshlands. A short walk through the local marketplace ended on a large dock on the north side of the island. There was a rather sizable gathering of mammals all along the shores and many were rowing about on small boats and canoes. 

Making their way to one of the smaller wooden piers, Nick let go of Judy’s paw. “Wait here, Carrots. I’ll be right back.”

Judy did as she was told, wondering what Slick Nick was up to now. There was no point in making a fuss, since she’d probably find out in the next few minutes. The bunny used the opportunity to take in her surroundings in more detail. She observed many of the mammals near her fiddling with some type of paper-made object. Some were round, others were square. Most were white but a few were adorned with vibrant pastel colors. A panda dressed in a bright red tunic suit appeared with a megaphone to politely address the crowd.

“Everyone. May I have your attention please. We will begin the festival momentarily. You may light your lanterns now but please do not release them yet. Thank you.”

Judy watched as everyone on the piers, boats, and bank began to light their lanterns, illuminating the entire area in a warm glow. Her ears twitched to the sound of padded feet running towards her.

“Boy, almost didn’t make it there.” Judy turned to the sound of Nick’s heavy voice, the fox panting from his light jog. In his paws was a lantern and a match. “They only had one left. Had to hustle some koala for it.”

“Oh, Nick. Is this the surprise?” Judy said, clasping her paws over her chest.

“You bet,” he said lifting a foot to strike the match against a pad before lighting the lantern.

“Okay, everyone. Get ready?” bellowed the panda announcer.

“Here you go, Fluff.” Nick held the floating lantern for Judy to take. “Make one more wish.”

“No.”

The fox’s ears perked up in surprise. “Huh? What do you mean no?”

Judy looked him in the eyes and smiled. “What I mean is… _no_. You are making a wish _with_ me.”

“Is it my birthday? No, no it is not.”

“Well, it’s my birthday and you have to do what I say!”

“Is that so?”

“It is so,” Judy said firmly, crossing her arms.

“Set…” the panda said, raising his arms higher.

“Okay, boss.” Nick relented and kneeled down. He and Judy both held the bottom of the lantern. They maintained a gaze upon one another before closing their eyes, fox and bunny making a wish together.

“Release!”

Nick and Judy released their lantern as did everyone else. They slowly floated skyward, decorating the night sky like a sea of stars over the island. It was truly a sight to behold.

“Oh my gosh. It’s so beautiful!”

“It sure is,” Nick said, diverting his gaze down to Judy, who was completely caught up in the moment, following the lanterns as they traveled across the bay. The look of absolute brilliance and happiness in her eyes brought a smile to Nick’s face and a warm sensation in his heart.

Judy wrapped an arm around Nick and plopped her head against his torso. “Thank you for this.”

Now seemed as good a time as any for the fox to reveal his true surprise. “Don’t thank me yet.”

“What!?” Judy’s eyes shot up to meet his. “Don’t tell me there’s more!”

“Only one thing,” he said, emphasizing with his index finger.

“But!” Judy began to protest but Nick placed both larger paws on her petite shoulders.

“Last one, I promise.”

Taking a deep breath, Judy couldn’t help but feel beyond appreciative of the fox standing in front of her. She felt so fortunate to have been able to meet someone like Nick to share her life with. “Okay.”

“Turn around,” he said gently.

“What?” she blinked in confusion.

“Turn around,” Nick repeated, making a whirly gesture with his finger.

Turning around, Judy felt a fresh wave of anxiety rush through her body.

“Close your eyes.”

“What are you…?”

“Close your eyes,” Nick patiently said once more. “Also, arms down and ears up.”

Now Judy was really confused. She naturally began to fidget until Nick’s paws scooted her arms back in. “I don’t see why I have to…”

“Nuh uh uh,” Nick shushed her protest. “Ears up now.”

It was getting harder to simply hold still. Judy felt Nick remove his paws. Her rabbit hearing detected the sound of him unbuttoning his blazer and reaching inside. This sort of movement caused her mind to go to a few places she didn’t expect, creating a fresh reddening throughout her cheeks and ears. She desperately wanted to drop them down but Nick had ordered her to keep them up.

“Nick…” Judy’s voice hitched, her heart beat just a little faster. “You’re not doing something… uh…”

“Doing what?” he asked innocently.

“Something inappropriate!”

“Madam, I am nothing if not a saint to your maiden honor,” came the response in a rather dry yet serious tone.

This caused Judy to guffaw, naturally attempting to cover her mouth incase she were to snort.

“What did I say about the arms?”

“They’re down!” she insisted, groaning as her fists balled at her sides.

Noticing Judy’s increasing anticipation, Nick purposely slowed his movement, very casually taking his time now to reveal the surprise. It almost felt too mean… almost. With nothing still happening, Judy’s right foot began to thump rapidly.

“No thumping,” Nick said.

“Nick, I swear if you’re pranking me…”

“I would do no such thing. At least not today. Still thumping.”

With a small groan, Judy forced her foot to stop. Now it was quiet again.

“Remember, keep ’em closed.”

A few more moments passed between them. Thinking he had tortured Judy enough, Nick finally reached further into his blazer and removed a neatly folded piece of fabric. He delicately unwrapped it until he held it between both paws.

Eyes still closed, Judy was going bonkers with impatience. _I’m going to kill him!_ She was coming so close to bursting like a bunny pinata that she literally froze when she felt the sensation that something moved near her ears and hovered over her head. Fighting the natural urge to drop her ears, she sensed slow and deliberate movement near her face, making her nose twitch.

Suddenly, an incredibly soft sensation touched all around her lithe neck, looping gently again and again. Judy really wanted to yank her eyes open and see what it was that was brushing against her fur. The movement halted as the fox’s large paws settled around her arms. Judy’s ears twitched at the warmth of Nick’s breath as his muzzle hovered right next to her cheek. 

“Happy birthday, Judy.”

The words of Nick’s thick hushed voice jolted her eyes open and Judy immediately looked down. There was a sudden intake of breath and a loss for words. Around her neck was a beautifully rich purple scarf with various sized, individually paw strewn, silvery carrot patterns whimsically designed along the entire fabric. Her paws finding their way to gently inspect the material, only to be greeted by the softest high quality jersey-knit fabric she’d ever felt. Judy ran a few fingers all the way to the hanging end and found her initials, JLH, meticulously stitched in a small silver monogram. 

Judy then realized this is what Nick must have been hiding in his office, even when they were still just best friends, he had been working on this gift in secret. A gift he would have still made for her no matter what their current relationship was. Wiping away at her misty eyes, Judy spun and barreled into Nick, nearly knocking him to the ground.

“I take it you like it? I didn’t know if… guh!” 

The fox’s words were cut off when the bunny yanked him down by his open blazer. Petite paws held him firmly by his cheek and snout as Judy kissed Nick deeply. Not resisting in the slightest, Nick tenderly wrapped his paws around the small of her back and brought Judy in closer. He could feel the tip of her cotton tail wiggle as his own wagged to and fro. Slowly, one of her paws found it’s way further along his cheek, gingerly digging into his longer fur with an iron grip, keeping him locked in place if he would even dare to stop their kiss anytime soon.

Eventually they parted breathlessly, both of them keeping their muzzles close, eyes remaining locked, when Judy leaned in and rested her nose against Nick’s. “I love it.”

Nothing more needed to be said when Judy burrowed herself back against Nick. They turned back toward the northern sky to comfortably watch the lanterns make their way across the bay until nothing remained of them except for tiny indiscernible specks. 

* * *

On their way back home, Judy remained preoccupied with her scarf, trying it out in numerous ways around her neck and relishing the wonderfully designed pattern. The inquisitive bunny asked Nick numerous questions about the material; where did he get it, how long did it take him to make it, etc. The fox teased her with a few ridiculous snarky answers before answering each one truthfully; listing off each tidbit one by one and how it took him several attempts before he was satisfied with the end result.

The hallway seemed quiet as Nick and Judy made their way to her apartment. She unlocked the door and opened it part way, turning to Nick whom she found already leaning against the wall, his piercing lidded eyes upon her. 

“See you at roll call tomorrow?”

Judy didn’t respond right away, not wanting Nick to go home yet. 

“I know it’s late...” she began bashfully, playing with the end of the scarf. “But you don’t have to go right now, do you?”

The tips of his longer lips curled up into a bright smile. “I could stay a while.”

Grabbing his paw, Judy led Nick inside. The fox casually took a seat on the far edge of her bed, crossing his legs while the bunny carefully removed her endearing gift and reverently hung it on her clothes rack along with her jacket.

Looking over to Nick, she extended a paw towards him. “Take off your coat.”

“So, is this why you really invited me over? Well, at least you wined and dined me first,” Nick winked, removing his blazer and handing it over to Judy.

Judy was tempted to throw the blazer back at him, but the implications momentarily distracted the doe. She collected herself, taking the coat and patting it down. “What was it you said? Nothing if not a saint to my maiden honor? Gosh. Did I bring the wrong fox home with me?”

Seeing his own joke turned against him, Nick leaned across the bed on one of his elbows and smirked. “Madam, I am nothing if not a perfect gentlemammal. I am only doing what the maiden requests.”

“I didn’t know I was dating such a big dork,” Judy chuckled as she finished hanging his blazer.

“You know you love it.”

“Hmm. Do I?” Judy pretended to consider it, a single finger tapping against her chin, and then hopped over next to Nick and nuzzled her face into his scruffy neck. “Maybe I do.”

The photo frames on the nearby wall suddenly rattled, causing her to pause. “Hey, you two get a room already!”

“They are in a room, idiot! Why are you always killing the mood?”

“I do not! This has been going on for months! They need to get it out of their system!”

“You just wanna listen to a free show, you perv.”

“Yeah, I’m sure you won’t complain.”

“Oh shut up!”

“No, you shut up!”

 _No, not those two again!_ “Oh, sweet cheese and crackers! GUYS!” Judy roared, propping herself up on her arms over Nick’s chest, glaring at the shared wall.

“Hey, is the door locked?”

“No, I thought you locked it!”

“You said you were going to lock it!”

“You started this! Shut your mouth and lock it before she comes over here!”

“You’re standing next to the door! You shut up and lock it!”

Judy was in fact just about ready to storm the room like a TUSK trooper till Nick pulled her back against his torso and reached for the remote with his longer paw and turned on her pink bunny TV, cranking up the volume to drown out the two bickering neighbors. He then placed the remote in her paws. “Pick a movie, Carrots.”

Closing her eyes, Judy took a deep calming breath. When she reopened them, she smiled up at Nick and began to channel surf. “Are you sure, Nick? What if we fall asleep during the movie?”

“One hundred percent, sure. My spare uniform is in my locker,” he said stifling a yawn while adjusting a pillow under his head to get more cozy before glancing down. “If it’s okay with you.”

An innocent blush played across Judy’s muzzle. Sharing a bed if they fell asleep. They had shared a bed once under different circumstances and it didn’t bother her then. In fact, her mind began to recall how warm and comfortable it was when she somehow found herself cuddled on top of Nick, not wanting to be pried away in her half-sleepy state. 

And of course Nick would ask for permission. He always put her needs or desires before his own. Except her desires were slowly morphing into something a little bit more racy in their current position. The vivid imagery caused the bunny’s heart to race and her breathing became more heavy. This did not go unnoticed by Nick.

“Carrots?”

A beat passed between them.

“I can always…”

Snapping back to reality, Judy took another breath to steady herself, and glanced over. “You should get more comfy,” she spoke quietly cutting off his reply.

A subtle grin formed on Nick’s lips as he removed his tie and placed it on Judy’s desk chair. Next he unbuttoned a few buttons on his shirt before finally relaxing back into her pillow.

After a moment of thought, the nestled bunny simply reached up to scratch under Nick’s chin and neck area, just like how she’s seen Valerie do for Brian so many times. The action was rewarded with a low rumble of satisfaction from Nick that reverberated all the way down his elongated torso. He closed his eyes as Judy continued to tenderly scratch. Judy could feel his tail wagging through the mattress. Satisfied, she returned to her task, flipping through a few more channels before finding her choice. 

Nick opened one eye when his ears detected lots of moaning followed by yelling and gunfire. “The Migrating Dead, huh?”

“Would you prefer a bunny rom-com?”

“No.”

“Then shh.”

“Shh-ing.”

Finding himself all too comfortable with Judy against him, it didn’t take long before Nick actually fell asleep while Judy was fighting heavy eyelids as well. She considered shutting off the TV right then and there until Nick suddenly shifted around her, slowly curling into a ball around the bunny. Finding herself trapped but still cozy with a little wiggle room, Judy adjusted her position and tucked her head into his scruffy neck.

Closing her eyes, her thoughts drifted how she would never forget this day. Planting one last slow kiss on his lower right cheek, she whispered softly into his ear before turning off the TV. “Goodnight, Nick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi readers! Story isn’t dead (or me) - I took a planned short break after the last chapter and that turned into a long break along with some IRL happenings. 
> 
> I hope everyone enjoyed some fun and laughs with this installment and that it doesn’t feel like filler or anything since I wanted things to slow down a bit and just let the characters breathe and do their thing but still plant or have some significant events now and for the future. And we finally learn what Nick made for Judy. ;) Also the Natalie portion is an homage to the comic, “Welcome to Zootopia” from the short comics collection with my own changes and additions. I do believe this chapter may have the most puns I've ever written.
> 
> Let me know what you guys think. As always I appreciate all the reviews and feedback!
> 
> Next chapter will focus on Judy and Nick’s next case with two very special character appearances from the Crime Files mobile game and how that may affect our still newly minted couple. Case-based chapters often require more time and effort to write, so it may take longer to publish. 
> 
> Also big thanks as always to Anistuffs and Cimar of Turalis WildeHopps for their continued help in contributing time to edit the story for grammar, characterizations, suggestions, and everything else under the sun. You can also blame them for delaying the story a bit by wanting some extra scenes added. ;) Be sure to check out their stories on AO3 or fanfiction.
> 
> P.S. I plan on eventually going back and revising the first half of the fic into a sort of “remastered edition” - basically to edit grammar and such, but also to expand previous scenes, add new ones, tweak characterizations and dialogue and expand the word count where it makes sense to match the content and quality of the rest of the later chapters. Chapter 1 alone has a list of 24 things to add/tweak while still keeping the core of what’s there. My biggest question to you readers would be regarding chapters 9-10 which was the Felisky case. I love the villain and that would all still stay there but the uniqueness of that case and his special ability is just slightly out of tone with the rest of the story. Does that bother anyone? Should I try to change it? Or do you guys think it should be left as is? I’d love to hear the feedback on that too.


	17. Fish Out of Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Judy are given a unique assignment. With only three days to crack it, will the two officers be able to solve the case in time? Find out as they face a new challenge together as more than partners.

The sensation of a steady rising and falling motion stirred Judy awake, her eyes slowly fluttering open in the still dim apartment. There the bunny lay, her lithe body completely stretched across the full length of Nick’s warm torso as he continued to sleep. Peeking at her clock in the rising morning light informed her that it was 5:21AM. She stifled a yawn, allowing herself a welcoming stretch before laying her head back down once more against the furrier tuft of Nick’s chest, exposed through the top of his unbuttoned navy shirt.

Judy remembered falling asleep with Nick nearly encasing her completely but sometime in the middle of the night they both had shifted into a supine position. Judy must have naturally scooted closer, making it her turn to wrap herself around the larger fox. Her ears perked at the sound of a low rumble that nearly resembled a growl followed by a whimper.

“No. No, just a few more minutes…” he incoherently mumbled. “Pretty please with carrots on top…”

Nick’s sleep induced plea caused Judy to bring a paw over her mouth to dampen the sound of her chuckle. The noise made Nick shift slightly; his outstretched right paw now grasping about as if searching for something. It landed squarely below her tail and squeezed. This made the bunny suddenly blush and raise her brow. A beat passed. Judy had to admit she rather enjoyed the touch, continuing to lay prone and closed her eyes briefly.

After a few more minutes of bliss, Judy carefully lifted herself up as to not wake Nick, studying his face. He was laying perfectly still, a rare peaceful non-smug expression across his snout. _Hmm, he looks cute sleeping like that_.

With the clock now reading 5:28AM, the alarm would soon blare. Deliberating for a second, Judy slowly shifted over, carefully stretching out her arm to silence the upcoming alarm. She paused for a moment and glanced at his smiling face once more.

Shaking her head, Judy shuffled herself back against Nick into her previous position with a smile. _Okay. I’ll give me… him... ten more minutes._

Fifteen minutes later a small line of sunshine peeked through the blinds and ran its way across the sleeping fox’s eyelids. Without his sleeping mask, Nick frowned, instinctively turning his face from side to side, trying to escape from the offensive morning ray of light. Finding it futile, he relented, grabbing the pillow out from under his head with a groan and mashed it over his face. A muffled snicker caught his attention and his semi-awake brain registered a fluffy weight resting on top of him. His ears flicked forward at the sound of a sweet melody as Judy began to hum a little tune.

Lifting the pillow off his face, Nick was greeted by amorous half-lidded eyes and a beaming smile. Judy was resting her chin on her crossed arms, looking directly at him. “Hey,” she said sweetly.

Nick’s immediate reply was a smile of his own. “Was I doing something funny?”

“Only… you know, refusing to get up on time like always,” she smirked.

His eyes darted to the left for a second. “Then why does the clock say 5:46? _Somebunny_ is guilty herself.”

“I am not! I let _you_ have a few more minutes,” she hummed.

“Speaking of… ten more minutes,” Nick stated, gently squeezing Judy closer as he dropped his head back onto the small pillow and closed his eyes.

“Up. Up, lazy fox. I already gave you fifteen!” she ordered, squirming out from his hold.

“Five minutes.”

“Nick!” Judy demanded and grabbed the pillow out from under him and began to gently swat him with it.

“Hey! No fair! I’m sleepy and unarmed,” he yelped, shielding his face with his paws while half-heartedly attempting to snatch the pillow away.

“Maybe you should wake up then!”

Nick timed the gap in Judy’s pillowy assault and lunged forward to bear hug her, before rolling over and gently pinning her down with a grunt.

“Gotcha,” he proudly declared.

“Oh-ho! You sure about that?” Judy challenged with a cocked eyebrow.

The fox snorted. “As sure as… what…”

Judy carefully slid her paws down his lower waist, unleashing a burst of tickling. Nick’s immediate shift gave the bunny enough space to position her legs for a sweep. Nick was back on his back with a triumphant Judy pinning his larger arms above his head.

“You were saying?” she taunted in a low tone with a tiny victory tail wiggle, her face hovering just above his snout as her hanging ears touched his cheeks.

A beat passed while the two mammals stared at one another. Nick’s eyes flicked down, then back to Judy’s and raised an eyebrow of his own, speaking with a confident tone. “I still win.”

“How do you figure?”

“Maybe I’m exactly where I want to be,” Nick replied, his voice a little thicker than before.

Judy blinked and gazed down to see just how seductively she was arched over Nick. Her blouse from the previous evening hanging low right in Nick’s field of view as he shot her a devilish smirk.

Rather than giving in to the heated blush, Judy lowered herself, allowing their noses to touch. “Maybe I planned this from the start…” Now it was Nick’s turn to blink as his eyes widened. Seeing Nick’s reaction, Judy planted a quick peck on the lips with a smirk of her own and hopped off the bed. “Time to get ready. C’mon.”

Nick propped himself up on his elbows with a satisfied grin. “Are you sure we can’t stay in bed a few more minutes?” Judy’s only reply was to toss Nick’s blazer at his face, completely covering his muzzle. “That’s a no.”

* * *

The sounds of small restless fingers drumming across the steering wheel caused Nick’s ears to flick as he aimed the radar gun at a pair of medium-sized vehicles passing by traveling the speed limit.

“ _Somebunny_ is gonna wear out the rubber at this rate,” he smirked, keeping his eyes on the near empty Meadowlands Highway.

Judy sighed, squeezing the wheel to force her paws still. “I know I shouldn’t be so restless, but…”

“But little miss crime fighter is itching for a real case,” he supplied, leaning his elbow out the cruiser window in the shade of the brush he chose for them to park under. Nick reached over with his free paw and took another drink of his Snarlbucks. Crime had been at an all time low this week and they’d been assigned to traffic duty for three straight days.

“Oh, shush,” Judy shot back. They sat in silence for a few moments when Judy’s ears flicked at the sound of an approaching loud motor. “I think I hear a speeder!”

“A potential customer, you say?” Nick steadied his aim at the bend. “All right. Get ready, Carrots.

Readying her foot on the pedal, they watched as a dinky little moped appeared around the corner, engine whirring loudly as an oversized ram on an undersized rickety scooter sputtered past.

Nick smirked at his partner as Judy disappointedly put the cruiser back into park.

“Driving slow in an unroadworthy vehicle is just as bad. Wanna pull him over?” Nick asked, resting his chin on his paw.

“No,” Judy replied in resignation, leaning forward onto the steering wheel.

A few quiet moments fell between the two partners. Nick began to hear Judy’s foot thumping against the floor panel. He peered back to the highway to see a dapper looking polar bear approaching in an expensive brand new looking ZMW going eight over the limit. As soon as the driver noticed Nick pointing the radar gun at him, he slammed his brakes — now doing five below with both paws tightly gripping the wheel and avoiding eye contact — much to the fox’s amusement.

“Wanna hear a joke?”

Judy dreadfully glanced in Nick’s direction. She had come to learn that if Nick asked to tell a joke it was either going to be really awful or really lame. “You’re going to tell me anyway, aren’t you?”

The fox casually leaned forward. “What’s the difference between ZMWs and porcupines?”

Their brief moment of direct eye contact, despite Judy’s eyes pleading ‘no’, was enough for Nick to continue.

”Porcupines carry their pricks on the outside,” he laughed while giving her a playful arm tap.

 _Oh my gosh!_ The bunny glared at her partner, rolling her eyes back to the windshield. Silence returned. Judy knew Nick meant well, enough that a tiny hint of a smile curled the edges of her lip. Maybe it was a little funny. Another lone car whizzed by as Nick studied his partner for a moment. He knew she was definitely craving some real action.

“Game of I spy?” Nick asked lazily looking out his window again.

“Pass.”

“How about some Words with Mammals?”

“Not on the clock, Nick.”

“How about a coffee run?” he asked shaking his now empty cup.

“That was your third one!”

“How about I jump naked into traffic and see what happens?”

“Go ahead,” she mumbled before her ears and eyes went skyward. “Wait… no!” she blurted out as she grasped his left arm with both paws just to make sure he wouldn’t dare.

Nick took the opportunity to lean in real close, their noses barely touching. “How about…”

“Okay, look…” Judy interrupted, grabbing the comm and playfully tapping his snout with it. “If I can find us a case, will you stop?”

“How about… maybe,” he smiled.

Shaking her head, Judy lifted the comm to her muzzle. “Z-240 to Dispatch.”

“Dispatch reading you loud and clear, Officer Hopps,” came the expected jovial response crackling over the radio. “Go ahead.”

“Clawhauser, has anything come in that we can investigate?” she chirped, unable to hide her slight fidgeting at the prospect of getting a real assignment.

“Hold on a second, I’ll check. Oh! The Chief is calling.” Nick and Judy both leaned in closer together in anticipation. There was a brief pause before Clawhauser spoke again. “Looks like something just came up! He says the Zootopia Marine Life Aquarium has been robbed and doesn’t care who gets it. He just wants to get the mammal who reported it out of his office. It’s all yours if you guys want it.”

“We’ll take it!” Judy declared. “Thank you, Clawhauser.”

“Copy that, Officer Hopps. Take some pictures of the cool fish! Dispatch out!”

Z-240’s engine roared to life as Judy turned the ignition.

“Well, that’s not something you hear every day,” Nick spoke up. “Who robs an aquarium?”

“We are going to find out,” Judy said putting on her aviators.

Nick mimicked her action as Judy hit the gas, merging onto the highway heading east.

* * *

A short drive later, Judy pulled into the half-empty parking lot, backing into the closest spot she could find near the building. The officers exited their cruiser into the warm Saharan air that blew across the Big Dune district from the Lion’s Tail river as it drained into the nearby bay. They proceeded under a large archway that read ‘Zootopia Marine Life Aquarium’ toward the modern-looking multi-level building, lined with several rows of palm trees around its sides. A large advertisement informed incoming visitors of the newly reopening Pawcific Ocean Exhibit.

The duo strolled by the ticketing entrance, flashing their badges to the bored-looking platypus behind the window who waved them through. Entering the spacious lobby, Nick and Judy walked up to the guest information booth where a hippo was occupying herself with a copy of Mammals magazine. The fox and rabbit simultaneously removed their aviators.

“Hello,” Judy began, eagerly looking up. The hippo was lost in whatever celebrity gossip article she was currently reading. Judy cleared her throat. “Hi. Hello?”

No response except for a page turn.

Feeling a gentle double tap on her shoulder, Judy turned to a hunched Nick, pointing to his shoulder with his thumb. Smiling, she hopped up, the newfound height allowing her to clear the top of the five foot tall desk counter with ease. “Hello!”

The occupied hippo, finally realizing that someone was trying to get her attention, turned her head, only to be nearly startled out of her chair when coming muzzle-to-muzzle with what appeared to be a six foot tall gray rabbit.

“So sorry,” Judy said. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Officer Hopps with the ZPD, here with my partner, Officer Wilde." A dark paw appeared next to the rabbit’s hip, rising from below the counter and waved. “We received a report about a robbery.”

“Right. Yes,” the embarrassed hippo collected herself, quickly stuffing the magazine away. “Director Loustreau is expecting you. I’ll let him know you’re here. Please wait.”

“Thank you!” Judy said, hopping down from her partner’s shoulders.

As they waited, Judy prepared her notepad and carrot pen, while Nick put his paws behind his back, casually surveying the surroundings. To his right was the only exit that went right through a large posh-looking gift shop.

 _Naturally_ , the business-savvy mammal smirked to himself.

Beyond the shop, along the northern area was a diving exhibit with an ocean voyager cinema that played documentaries in 3D. Following the banners, Nick noticed escalators going to the upper level food court, then his gaze focused upon a large colorful banner advertising the newly updated Pawcific Ocean Exhibit again. Additional text said it would be opening in three days.

Satisfied with his observations, Nick was about to say something to Judy when his eyes landed on an otter walking briskly toward the two officers. He turned back to give the otter an appraising one over; lean with some pep in his step, gray muzzle, a snug red beanie hung over his brow, wearing a pair of loose thin-framed spectacles, with a fitted blue blazer hiding an interesting purple flower pinned to his shirt.

“Ahoy, officers!” he exclaimed with a cheerful accent, extending a paw to Judy first. “Greetings to you both. I hope you weren’t waiting long. Jacques Loustreau, Director of the aquarium.”

Judy shook the offered paw. “Not at all, Mr. Loustreau. Officer Judy Hopps. This is my partner, Officer Nicholas Wilde.”

“Pleasure, sir,” Nick said with a hearty pawshake.

“I am so glad you came,” Jacques said, returning the pawshake. “I was not sure if the ZPD would take this seriously.”

“We’re always here to help. Can you show us the scene of the crime, sir?” Judy asked.

“Yes, of course. Right this way, please,” Jacques gestured and began to lead the officers towards the entrance below the banner. Judy followed the otter as Nick stepped in line behind her, paws behind his back. “Have you ever had the pleasure to visit us before, officers?”

“No, Mr. Loustreau. We’ve haven’t had a chance. But it looks amazing!” Judy said.

Jacques’ face lit up at Judy’s compliment. “I helped design and build this aquarium many, many years ago. I wanted to bring my love of the sea to Zootopia!”

After crossing the lobby, the three mammals stepped into a wide winding hallway with lots of informative electronic kiosks and panels. Soon they entered into another large atrium that branched into several different exhibits.

Unable to help himself, Jacques naturally went into a pseudo tour guide mode. “Here you will see our many exhibits.” They passed many entrances leading to various habitats as Jacques continued his little history lesson and personal biography with animated gusto.

Walking past the Antelantic Ocean section, gave Jacques a moment to reminisce. “I will always fondly remember the expedition to study the Antelantic herring. We were many weeks at sea! Did you know they can form schools in the tens of millions! Astounding, no? They use their eyes and a row of pores we call the lateral line that runs all along the side from head to tail, to hold their places in the school. These tiny little hairs in their pores can sense changes in water pressure from the movements of the other fish to predators! We taped this in one of my old documentaries.” Jacques turned to view his guests. Judy was following along while Nick kept a neutral expression. “Ah, my apologizes. I am rambling again.”

“Oh, it’s okay Mr. Loustreau. That was really interesting!” Judy said.

Judy’s acknowledgment made the older otter smile and adjust his spectacles up the bridge of his muzzle with two fingers. “Wonderful! You will really love this marvelous fact, it is one of my favorites. You see in this habitat over here…”

Nick continued behind Judy in silent amusement. They walked under another large banner that informed them they were entering the newly re-done Pawcific Ocean Exhibit. They passed several new aquatic habitats with colorful schools of saltwater fish and other various sea creatures. Soon, they arrived at a particular tall tank that appeared to be devoid of any fish swimming about. The habitat was surrounded by a unique showcase of lights that were currently turned off.

“There’s no fish?” Judy asked as the pair of officers looked all around the tank.

A heavy sigh was the initial response followed by an open palm gesture. “This is what was stolen, Officer Hopps. Our latest addition. A newly discovered small school of Annuluscanthus aureola or the dwarf halofish. I named them myself. I believe they may be a distant relative to the Pomacanthus imperator, the Emperor angelfish. Very rare and now gone.”

Judy just finished jotting down the species of the fish on her notepad and was ready to begin asking more questions when her ears twitched to the sound of another pair of feet. She turned to see another mammal appear, a slim athletic beaver with a tuft of wavy bleached hair, wearing a necklace with a large single tooth, dressed in a bright red floral Pawaiian shirt; exactly the kind a certain fox she knew would wear with no shame. He appeared studiously lost into the clipboard covering his face.

Nick and Jacques turned to face the approaching newcomer.

“Ah, William!” Jacques exclaimed, catching his employee’s attention.

“Yeah, boss mammal?” the beaver said looking up from his printed documents.

“Come, come. Meet Officers Hopps and Wilde,” Jacques waved him over before turning to the fox and rabbit. “William is our water systems specialist.”

Nick couldn’t help but smile. “Greetings, sir. May I say you have impeccable style. A mammal after my own heart.”

The compliment piqued William’s interest. “You love these too, officer? Don’t you just dig how they…”

“... feel like a second coat of fur? So soft you can sleep in them? Are great for any occasion? You betcha.” Nick smirked.

“My dude!” They shared a high-four. “Wife bought me this one for our anniversary last week.”

 _Oh no… there’s two of them_ , a horrified Judy watched from the side.

“Really? Boy, I wish my girlfriend appreciated my sense of fashion. She keeps telling me I should throw my shirts away,” the fox replied with a sullen look.

“Whoa! That’s bogus bud,” Will said, crossing his arms.

“Very bogus,” Nick said matching Will’s posture.

“Excuse me Officer Wilde,” Judy interrupted sweetly but not without shooting her partner a glare. “We do have some statements to take when you’re finished.”

Nick simply winked back. She smiled before returning to the director. “Okay. Mr. Loustreau, let’s start with telling us how many of these fish are missing, please.”

“There was over a dozen. Sixteen to be precise. William was the first to discover them missing, later confirmed by our lead aquarist.”

“What do these halofish look like, sir?”

“Small. About four inches in length. They are dark with brilliant ring patterns on their scales that shimmer like an angel’s halo when the light kisses them,” Jacques said gesturing with both arms over his head for emphasis.

“Do you have a picture?”

“Yes. I will bring you one from my office,” Jacques said.

“When did this happen, sir?” Judy continued.

“In the early morning. Around three, I believe.”

“Was anyone on shift at the time of the incident?”

“Yes. My security monitor, Victor, and my custodian, Philip, were both working the night shift. Philip called, waking me and my wife in the middle of the night, barely able to speak. He was a complete mess. When I arrived, I found them both in the security office.”

As Judy was asking the questions, Nick was hanging back silently absorbing the information. A new scent alerted the fox’s nose that another mammal was drawing near. From the corner of his eye, the officer noticed another otter arrive. She was wearing a loose pink summer dress that draped off her slender form with a matching thirteen petal flower on her right ear and a pink scarf oddly tightened around her neck. The otter was the same height as Judy, her large green eyes staring attentively in his direction.

Noticing that Nick was glancing her way after he observed her eyes slowly moving down and back up, the otter smiled seductively at the fox officer with an approving nod. Nick quickly turned back toward the other mammals with a raised eyebrow.

 _Must be imagining things_ , he hold himself.

“Why didn’t you call the police right away, sir?” Judy asked.

Jacques adjusted his spectacles again. “Ah… We have never had something like this happen before, my dear. I did not know what to do. We could not find anything missing until this morning. Then I immediately sent one of my staff to the ZPD.”

“Sir, you should have reported…”

Judy was cut off when a loud speaker rang out in the exhibit, causing her long ears to recoil. It notified the room that Jacques had an important phone call waiting for him. They noticed Jacques wince when he checked his watch.

“Please excuse me, officers. I really must take this call. Very, very important. You are free to explore the facility… my staff will help you with anything you need and answer any questions you have. Farewell for now,” Jacques said with a courteous bow.

Before Judy could stop him, the older otter departed with surprising energy into the hallway that led back to the lobby. It was then that Judy noticed the newest arrival.

“Oh, hi! Officer Judy Hopps, ZPD. And my partner, Officer Nicholas Wilde.”

“Hello, Officer Hopps. I’m Kris Ottley,” the otter greeted back before turning her complete attention to Nick, batting her eyelashes. “And hello to _you_ , Officer Wilde.”

“Ma’am,” Nick replied in a friendly tone like Judy. He offered a pawshake which Kris gladly received, holding on tightly with a lingering grip. When he was able to finally squirm it out of her grasp, Nick noticed some type of device in her other paw. “Are you a staff member?”

“I’m the lead aquarist, in charge of all the new habitats you see here in the exhibit,” Kris answered proudly, moving closer to the fox.

“Aquarist, you say? You were the one who confirmed the fish were missing?” Nick asked.

“Yes. I was called to come in right away.”

Judy continued to scribble down information. “How did you confirm this, ma’am?”

Kris maintained eye contact with Nick. “I dove into the tank. They were all gone…” her voice wavered as her ears fell flat.

Nick shifted a small distance from Kris. “You dove into the tank? Were there any signs of a forced entry or anything suspicious?”

“Nothing out of the ordinary. No.”

The fox officer turned to the beaver. “How about you, Will?”

“Nothing either, dude. I came in around seven after catching some mondo surf this morning. Found a note from boss mammal saying to double check everything. Started my systems check, everything was looking tops. When I got down here I saw the tank looking a little empty… thought maybe the little dudes were spooked behind a rock or something. When I couldn’t see them, I called boss mammal over. He called Kris.”

“What happened then?”

Kris stepped in again. “When I discovered they were gone, I told Jacques. He immediately sent me to the ZPD. I didn’t know which station to go to, so I drove to Downtown.”

Looking over her notes, Judy poised a new question. “Mr. Loustreau mentioned a Victor and Philip. Are they still here?”

Will dug his paws into his pockets. “Victor ought’a be hanging in the security office. Second floor, across from the food court. Think Philip might be in the back somewhere, probably trying to find a quiet spot to get away from all the fuss, poor dude.”

Kris’ face suddenly lit up as if she remembered something important. She came between Nick and Judy, paws on both their arms. “I forgot I came to tell Will something! Please excuse us for a minute, officers,” Kris said sweetly, looking to Judy then to Nick with lingering half-lidded eyes.

The otter grabbed the beaver by the arm and shuffled him a few meters away.

“Everyone here seems so nice and friendly,” Judy chirped.

“Yeah… real friendly,” her partner drawled.

The two employees promptly engaged in a rather hushed but animated conversation about something, frantically whispering back and forth. Judy’s ears naturally swiveled toward the pair, however, movement in the corner of the bunny’s eye, turned her attention to Nick instead.

Judy raised an eyebrow when Nick began to sign rigorously with his paws with a particular emphasis to his eyes and ears leading somewhere and he formed his paw into a fist, palm toward her with his thumb in between his pointer and secondary fingers, shaking it slightly side to side. The bunny blinked in confusion. Nick repeated himself and then waited expectantly for Judy to respond.

Rolling her eyes, Judy put her paws on her hips. “Nick, I don’t know…” the frustrated rabbit began to perfectly recreate her partner’s motions. “... what this means!”

Hunching over his knees to meet Judy at eye level, Nick smiled. “I was asking if you can hear what they’re saying. We should also go visit the security office next… and I have to go to the bathroom.”

“No, because _somefox_ is distracting me. And it’s rude to listen in on someone else’s conversation! But I did catch Kris mention something from Victor about another room,” Judy said before pointing a finger a Nick. “And didn’t I tell you, you shouldn’t drink all of that coffee at once?”

Before Nick could reply with something smarmy, Kris and Will yelled over to them that they needed to take care of something very important and disappeared in a rush.

“I wonder what got those two going?” Nick pondered. “Shall we go find Victor?”

“Yes. Will said he’s upstairs. Let’s go.”

Returning to the lobby, the information booth hippo pointed the two officers toward their next destination. They rode the large escalator, walked down a hallway opposite the food court, and soon arrived at a closed door that read Security Office.

“Mr. Victor? This is the ZPD. May we come in?” Judy asked after knocking on the door.

An electronic clicking sound alerted the officers that the door was now unlocked. Judy entered first, followed by Nick. Inside they found an opossum in black clothing hanging upside down from a giant desk lamp, clearly intended for a much larger mammal, watching several security monitors in the small dimly-lit room. Stacks of papers littered his desk, laying on top of a plaque that read Victor O’Posson. Next to it was a pill bottle.

The gray furred opossum yawned before slowly swiveling toward the two officers with a small wave. “How many I help you?” Victor said, in a rather quiet sloth-like tone, his words nearly slurring together.

With carrot pen in paw, Judy was ready to begin. “Mr. O’Posson, we just want to get a statement from you, sir. We were told you were on shift during the night of the robbery.”

“I was,” Victor quietly replied, stifling another yawn.

“Tell us what happened, sir.”

Turning back to the screens, Victor dropped down and began to type on his security system. “I was up here in my station. Philip was downstairs cleaning the new exhibit floor when someone scared him.”

“You saw the intruder? Why didn’t you act or call the ZPD?” Judy asked.

“Because… because…” The opossum paused when a yawn managed to escape him, gesturing one moment to reach over and grab the pill bottle. He popped a pill before continuing. “Because I was asleep.”

“You were sleeping on the job?” Nick chimed in.

“I took my pills on time, I swear,” Victor said shaking the bottle at them. “I was watching Philip clean, then… I don’t remember. I woke up laying on my desk with Director Jacques shaking me. He thought I was dead. Everyone always thinks I’m dead. Philip was over in the corner whimpering that something bad happened. We went through the tapes and found this.”

Nick and Judy huddled together behind Victor as he brought up footage from the security camera that was in the tank room. Victor let out another big yawn. This time it was contagious. Nick did his best to keep his trembling jaw shut but Judy just rolled with it.

Taking the opportunity, the fox playfully pretended like he was going to stick his finger into the bunny’s lingering yawn, causing his partner to recoil and slap his paw away. The two shared a flirty chuckle before getting serious and returning their attention to the monitor when the footage began to play.

They watched as a lone jittery groundhog in overalls went about his cleaning duties. As Philip neared the edge of the frame, a light going out caught the groundhog’s attention offscreen. Suddenly he jumps and passes out in fright on the floor. A few moments later a blurry paw is seen disabling the camera at 2:47AM before the video feed became scrambled.

“And there was no signs of entry?” Nick asked.

“None. Director Jacques had us check the other video feeds and the premises.”

The officers exchanged a glance. Nick pointed to the screen. “Is there any more footage?”

“Only this,” Victor said, nodding to a different monitor.

The officers watched a new set of footage that showed Philip running past the other exhibits, through the lobby, up the escalator, and frantically beating on the security office door before unlocking it and jumping inside at 4:19AM.

“Listen pal,” Nick said, placing a paw on Victor’s shoulder. “We’re gonna need a copy of these tapes for our case file. All of them.”

“I’ll get started on that right away,” Victor yawned.

“You’re the best,” Nick said patting him on the shoulder and standing up. The fox officer left a card on the desk. “If you find anything else, here’s our number.”

“Thank you so much. We really appreciate it.” Judy smiled, following Nick out of the office. Victor waved goodbye.

Nick opened the door, only to suddenly pause, causing Judy to run into the back of him. The bunny glared at her partner and followed his gaze down the hall. Kris was standing there, paws clasped, waiting for them.

“There you are!” Kris said approaching the duo. She slinked her way between the fox and rabbit, forcing Judy to step back. Grabbing Nick by the arm, she began to lead him down the hall, completely ignoring Judy. “I found Philip if you still need to talk to him, Officer Wilde. I can take you there.”

“Uh… I’m sure we can find our way if you point us in the right direction, Miss Ottley. Wouldn’t want to be a bother while you work…” Nick said, uncomfortably trying to pry himself away. _What is with this otter?_

“I don’t mind! You can call me Kris, cutie.”

Judy’s nose twitched rapidly and her ears shot skyward as her muzzle scrunched into a wild mix of emotions. _Cutie!? Did she just call my boyfriend cute?_

Her eyes focused on Kris’ grabby paws clutching Nick’s arm. The same way she should hold him when they were off-duty. A surge of anger and jealousy began to bubble underneath as the doe frowned. She hopped into a brisk walk to catch up to the pair. Nick finally managed to separate himself from Kris and stepped back in line with Judy. He glanced down to his partner who kept her eyes trained on the otter, a forced neutral line stuck on her lips.

The three mammals returned to the first floor as Kris escorted them to the restricted staff-only fish life support area. Kris would occasionally turn to steal a glance at Nick who would instantly divert his gaze anywhere else. Judy wasn’t thrilled everytime she noticed the act but needed to remain professional, reminding herself of Chief Bogo’s words. _Just let it go, Judy._

Coming around a series of protein skimmers that helped remove debris in the huge water treatment and reclamation system, revealed a short and plump groundhog cleaning the floor with an oversized mop. A tight grip on the stick helped to steady his fidgety composure; loose overalls hung over a yellow t-shirt that clung to his brown fur. Nervous beady eyes met the group as Kris gently called out to Philip.

Philip seemed to visibly shrink at the sight of the three mammals approaching him, maintaining a firm grip on the mop. “Hello,” he greeted in a meek tone.

“Philip, these nice officers would like a word with you,” Kris said gently. The otter turned to the officers, specifically to Nick as expected. “He doesn’t do well with large groups. I’ll just be over there if...“ A notification made the otter pause mid-sentence and she brought up her phone. A groan escaped her muzzle. “Looks like I need to help Will again. I’ll be in the closed exhibit if you need me! Bye!” Kris departed but not without offering Nick a blatant wink.

Scratching the back of his neck, the fox turned to their next inquiry. He noticed a tiny book with chew marks tucked away into one his pockets. Keeping proper distance with an open relaxed posture and friendly tone, Nick took the lead to greet Philip. “Hello, sir. Officer Wilde and Hopps. A fellow bibliophile, I see. Whatcha reading there, buddy?”

“Oh… it’s just a self-help book.” While Victor had a small slur to his words, Philip fought with a natural stammer, doing this best to articulate his words properly. “Boxing Your Shadow: The Groundhog's Guide to Managing Fear.”

Judy tried to join in the small talk with her bright and chipper voice to help put Philip at ease. “Can you tell us about it, sir?”

“Nope.” There was a pause after the groundhog’s curt reply before he added, “I can’t talk about it.”

“How come, big guy?”

“I’m nervous and it makes me scared. I bought it to help me but I get so worked up, I chewed on the cover… now I can’t return it,” Philip sighed.

“I’m sorry, sir,” Judy said, offering a sympathetic smile. “I know this might be hard, but we need to ask you a few questions about what happened last night. Is that okay?”

There were several seconds of silence. “Okay… I’ll try.”

“Take it as easy as you need, buddy,” Nick said, offering a genuine smile of his own.

The small talk helped ease the groundhog into a more calm state. After wringing his paws for a moment, Philip worked up the courage to recount the incident. “I was cleaning over by the new exhibit when… one of the lights went out. I got so scared. I forced myself to look and then…”

A beat passed between the three mammals. Judy was patiently waiting, pen at the ready. The moment grew longer to the point where the rabbit’s foot almost began to thump. Nick’s paw landed on her shoulder.

“Take your time, pal.”

“Then… I don’t remember.”

The officers exchanged a glance. Judy stepped a little closer. “You don’t remember, sir? You weren’t able to see anything?”

“Nope. Some shadow jumped at me and I… I blacked out.” Philip looked away in shame. “I’m sorry. If I hadn’t lost my binky, maybe I could have seen what it was…”

“Your binky?” Judy asked.

“My… baby towel,” he shared in an embarrassed tone. “Has little drawings of bark on it. My shrink calls it my anti-fear totem. I didn’t know if I was able to work without it, but I couldn’t miss a shift so I forced myself to come in… I thought since no one is around at night, It’d be okay… and then... “

At the signs of Philip beginning to shake, Nick dared to offer a gentle shoulder tap. “It’s okay, pal. We know it’s tough on you. Can you tell us what happened when you woke up? Take your time.”

“S-sure,” Philip said collecting himself by making fists with his paws. “I didn’t know how long I was out. I looked around but no one was there. I did the first thing I could think of… I ran to Victor’s office. When he wouldn’t open the door… I used my own key and found him just… laying still on his desk. I didn’t know what to do so I just huddled in the corner and called our boss. He told me to sit tight and he’d be on his way over…”

“No one called the police?” Nick asked gently. The fox wanting to get Philip’s side of the story.

“Nope. I barely managed to call my boss… when he came in, he was able to get Victor to wake up and then told us to help check the area.”

“I see. Thanks, pal,” Nick said gently. “We’ll see ourselves out.”

“Yes. Thank you, sir,” Judy added.

Philip waved at the departing officers as they backtracked their way toward the lobby. Judy was flipping through her notes, tapping her carrot pen to her chin as they walked side by side.

“What are you thinking, Carrots?”

“I can’t help but keep thinking they should have called us right away,” Judy replied. “What if Philip or Victor would have been hurt?”

“You’re right. Let’s go have another chat with ol’ Captain Nemo.”

Judy’s reaction at the nickname was a tiny snort; her lips curling into a barely discernible smile as she gave her partner a light shove. When they arrived, the door to Jacques’ office was closed, his loud but muffled voice indicating that the otter was having a heated conversation with someone.

Nick was unable to peek between the blinds of the office windows. “Can you make out what he’s saying?”

“No,” Judy said, as her perked ears twitched. “The walls are fairly soundproof. And we shouldn’t listen in. Let’s just wait till he finishes.”

Casually leaning against the wall, Nick put his paws in his pockets. He still couldn’t help himself from trying to make out the conversation, even though he had no hope if Judy couldn’t pick up on it. It still didn’t stop him from trying, or even prevent the occasional glance between the blinds. Judy went back to reviewing their notes, flipping from page to page. As the lengthy phone call continued, both officers found themselves growing impatient. Even Nick began to think they were losing valuable time from all the waiting around.

“Why don’t we check the tank again and come back after?” he suggested.

“You have an idea?”

“Sure do. Let’s check the spot Philip was cleaning. I want to ask Will some questions too. And I have to use the bathroom,” he smiled.

Judy shook her head at Nick’s last reason and they strolled back to the exhibit. No one seemed to be around. Spotting a restroom, Nick excused himself and sauntered over to it but not before his eyes curiously settled on an open rectangular tank with various raised steps bordering the habitat. Looking past the surface of the water, the fox noticed there was quite a few sea creatures inside. The nearby sign informed him that this was a tide pool petting tank.

Unable to help himself, he stuck his paw into the cool water, gently petting the various critters. They weren’t fluffy like he preferred but surprisingly smooth as he ran his index pad over a starfish. Nick turned to call Judy over so she could see this when he heard a tiny splash and something small land on top of his paw.

Nick’s eyes went wide and he stiffened. He slowly turned to find himself eye level with another pair of green eyes. Kris offered him a sweet smile. Nick could feel her paw brush against his under the water.

“Do you like touching, Officer Wilde?” Kris asked, batting her eyes. “I meant what I said earlier. You’re awfully cute and I’m awfully single. I could show you a few other things you can touch.”

The fox forcefully yanked his paw away, splashing water all over the floor. Nick was about to say something but stopped when he heard a small object hitting the floor. The fox turned to find Judy staring at them with narrowed eyes and drooped ears, her carrot pen rolling to a stop near her foot. He hadn’t seen her make a face like that since the time she confronted him after he hustled her the day they had met.

 _Oh boy!_ He quickly came over and picked up the pen, shaking his other paw vigorously as if he could shake away the incident.

Judy looked Kris straight in the eyes, approaching the otter in an almost territorial posture. The bunny forced herself to stop, pausing to take a deep breath that lasted three seconds before addressing Kris in a stern police tone. “Ma’am, we’re looking for Will. Have you seen him?”

“Oh. I can get him for you! Be right back!” the otter squeaked as if nothing happened and left the two officers alone.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Nick held out the pen for Judy but she wasn’t taking it right away. Instead the rabbit looked around, checking to see if they were actually alone.

“So… awfully cute… awfully single… I can show you a few other things you can touch? And I see she had her paw on yours when you said you were going to the bathroom,” Judy stated, looking up at Nick, a mixture of emotions waging war across her muzzle.

 _Of course, she heard that_ , Nick inwardly sighed. He looked directly into his partner’s eyes. “Carrots, she snuck up on me. I stopped to look at that little petting tank thingy and before I knew it, she was right there. Like some sort of otter stalker ninja.”

Judy crossed her arms. “Why didn’t you tell her to back off?”

“What? Because I didn’t expect her to go that far. You think I’ve been enjoying this?”

“Do you think I have been, Nick?”

“Seriously? Of course not. What do you want me to do? I was hoping she’d take a hint earlier and back off on her own. I was trying to keep it cool while we interviewed everyone. For all we know she may still have useful information.”

“So it’s okay if she asks you out and gropes you the entire time as long as it helps us solve this case?”

“That’s not what I’m saying.”

“Then what are you saying?”

Now Nick put his paws defensively on his hips. Before he could explain himself, he spotted something slinking behind Judy on the nearby glass. He’d never seen an eight legged red creature like this before. Judy’s full attention was on Nick, waiting for his response, however the response she got was not the one she was expecting at all. The wide-eyed fox began to frantically sign again, then realizing it was pointless, made several pointing motions behind her.

“I don’t understand these signs!” she said, angrily waving her arms all around her.

The animal was coming closer. Nick leaned down slowly so he could whisper. “Behind you, behind you, behind you!”

“Really, Nick? I’m not falling for that prank again this week! Are you even taking this seriously?”

It was Judy’s turn to suddenly stiffen when an odd sensation touched her ear. She yelped and instinctively jumped straight up, grabbing whatever it was and defensively hurling it over her shoulder. The creature flew straight at Nick, who caught it with his chest and slipped onto the floor. The two of them grappled each other in a comical manner.

“What is this thing!?” he grunted, keeping the tentacles away from his snout.

“Oh my gosh… Nick! Hold on!” Judy said, running to his aid.

Suddenly a large net, followed by two extra pairs of paws, landed on Nick, freeing him from the red animal. Will and Kris had returned and secured the sea creature, both looking pleased at its capture.

“Thanks for finding this little troublemaker, officer! He’s quite the escape artist,” Will laughed as he secured the animal. He looked over at the bewildered look on Nick and Judy’s faces. “Never seen an octopus before?”

“Not when it’s trying to acquaint itself with my face. He could at least buy me dinner and a movie first,” Nick drawled as Judy helped him up and checked him over. “I’m okay,” he told her while patting his clothes down.

“Hang tight,” Will said and took the octopus away. “Better get this dude back in his tank before he dries up.”

They were left alone with Kris again. “Are you okay, Officer Wilde?” she asked studying his face.

Judy made sure to put herself between Nick and Kris, acting like a shield to the otter’s advances. Nick made sure to step behind and keep his paws behind his back.

“Not to worry, Miss Ottley, I’m good,” he replied in a strictly neutral tone, raising his paw for emphasis.

“Are you sure?” the otter persisted.

“Positive,” Nick insisted.

“Alrighty, sorry about that...” Will said as he returned to the group, noticing the atmosphere was a little tense. “Did you need anything else, officers?”

Judy tugged at Nick’s paw to retrieve her pen, which he relinquished and she prepared to take more notes. “Actually, could you take us to the spot where Philip was scared?”

“Of course we can!” Kris chimed in, looking too excited.

As they walked, Judy first asked Will if he was working the day of the crime. He told her that he had the day off and spent it with his wife and friends at Sandy Cove, even bringing out his phone to show them some FurBook posts of their outing at the beach. He then provided phone numbers of all the mammals who could vouch for his presence.

When Judy turned to Kris and asked the same question to note her alibi, the otter looked like she became visibly upset as her fur bristled, causing her to draw her scarf tighter and look away, quickly crossing her arms. With some reluctance, Kris said she went home early because she wasn’t feeling well and then later that evening, decided to go out. They could verify this with her landlord and the pub she visited. The otter then promptly excused herself in a huff, saying she needed to go check on her live habitats again.

The three remaining mammals circled around the tank toward the back and arrived at the area. Looking around they could see the disabled camera.

“Has anyone touched the camera?” Judy asked.

“No, Officer Hopps. Left it just like like you see it,” Will pointed.

Nick took his paws out of his pockets and gestured to the camera. “Got a ladder we can use to take a closer look?”

“Sure thing, dude.”

Will retrieved a ladder from Philip which he and Nick held while Judy inspected the broken camera. She dusted it for any pawprints but to no avail. However, she did see traces of claw marks on the side. Judy snapped a few photos and then carefully removed the scratched side panel with the aid of some tools from Will, placing the piece into an evidence bag.

They proceeded to dust the floor where they estimated Philip had blacked out but the only thing they found was traces of what looked like groundhog fur and pawprints. Judy collected a few hairs and Nick took some photos just to be sure. The fox also inspected the light and respective light switch and found no additional clues.

As they wrapped things up, Jacques appeared, carrying a small box.

“Ahoy again, officers! I brought the photo and the tapes you requested. Victor finished copying them but looked very tired - I thought he was about to fall over and sleep, so I sent him home.”

“You sure that wasn’t his resting sleepy face, sir?” Nick joked, accepting the evidence.

Will and Jacques shared a chuckle while Judy shook her head. Recomposing himself, Jacques’ demeanor turned quite anxious as he noticed Judy holding some evidence bags.

“Will you be needing any more assistance, my dear?” he asked Judy directly.

“We just need to take an alibi from you as well, sir.”

“Certainly. I was here working till nine then I spent the rest of the evening with my lovely wife, Simone. Our home number,” he provided with a hastily scribbled note.

“Thank you. I think we have everything we could find, Mr. Loustreau,” Judy began. “However, you really should have called the ZPD right away, sir. You’re staff could have been injured.”

“I do apologize again, Officer Hopps. I was not thinking clearly,” Jacques said bringing his paws together. “May I ask something of you?”

“What is it, sir?”

“Those dwarf halofish were very important. I know you must be busy with much more important matters, but please… if you could find them before the next three days, I would be so grateful!”

“Is it because of the grand reopening?” Nick asked, remembering all the advertisements he saw when they first arrived.

“Yes, Officer Wilde. Business has been slow. Very slow. We poured a lot of money into my expedition. When we returned, I had high hopes so we marketed the exhibit aggressively in hopes of bringing visitors back in. Even though the fish are insured… they were our centerpiece. If we cannot open the exhibit and the news outlets find out, it would be…” the otter paused with a heavy sigh, “devastating.”

Judy’s ears drooped at the director’s plea. The bunny reached out with a sympathetic gesture. “We’ll try and find them, Mr. Loustreau.”

“Officer Hopps and I found a dozen missing mammals before, sir. We can find your dozen missing fish,” Nick said.

“Thank you both so much from the bottom of an old otter’s heart,” Jacques said as he placed his paws on Judy’s shoulders. “Fair winds and following seas to you both.”

The officers made their way back to the main entrance, having to pass through the gift shop to make their exit. Just before they reached the door, Kris called out to them. Nick really wanted to keep going but barely glanced behind him when the persistent otter caught him by the arm.

“I just wanted to say goodbye. It was really nice meeting you,” Kris said keeping her eyes on Nick. “If you ever decide to visit, give me a call. I’ll make sure they let you in for free and give you a special tour!”

Seeing as how Nick’s paws were full with the evidence box, Kris slipped a business card into his pocket, waved and disappeared back into the lobby. The fox’s ears flattened when he picked up Judy’s groan. She was not happy seeing this again.

They made their way back to their cruiser and loaded the evidence into the trunk. Judy hopped into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Nick closed the back door and joined her, buckling himself in. The ex-hustler picked up on the bunny’s mood. Judy hadn’t pulled out of the parking spot yet. An awkward silence clung in the air between them.

“Fluff, listen… about what happened back there…” Nick began, trying to find the right words.

“Nick,” she sighed heavily. “I know it’s not your fault.” Judy steadied herself with another deep breath. “Look, we can talk about this later, okay? We need to get this evidence to the station first.”

“Actually, there’s something I wanted to run past you,” Nick said, looking rather serious.

“What is it?” Judy asked, leaving the cruiser in park and turning to fully face her partner.

“If you don’t need my help back at the station, I was thinking you could drop me off at my place. I still know a few guys in the Black Fur Market… Thought I’d change and go pay them a visit. See if they’ve heard anything about these fancy fish.”

“That’s… actually a good idea… Okay. I can handle the rest,” Judy agreed. She placed a paw on his leg.

Nick returned the gesture, giving her smaller paw a gentle squeeze. “You sure? I can always go after our shift.”

“Yes. I’m sure,” she offered a reassuring smile. “C’mon, let’s go. We only have two and a half days left to crack this case.”

* * *

Nick made his way under the dripping canopy, shaking his damp fur. He had spent a few hours visiting a few seedy places in Sahara Square, made his way over to Savanna Central, then north to Tundratown. No one had heard or seen anything. On a hunch, he crossed over to the Rainforest District, passing the corner of Haymarket and Vapor Road. Not expecting a trip to this biome and needing a coat, the fox snapped off a large leaf to use as a makeshift umbrella.

Walking along a raised roadway, Nick watched as a drawbridge stopped local traffic for a cargo blimp to pass through. A lengthy trek soon found the fox officer casually hanging around a blimp landing pier littered with a series of warehouses; behind them a pristine waterfall cascaded into a thick mist. Having ditched his umbrella for now, Nick patiently leaned against a storage hangar under a dry spot he found listening to the patter of artificial rain on the metal roof.

The dock workers moved the cargo to and fro, largely ignoring the fox. Nick took a moment to fetch his phone and send a text to update Judy on his progress. A minute later the bunny texted back that she was still at the station reviewing the tapes and finishing paperwork after dropping off the fur and claw marks to the lab.

Soon a particular mammal caught the officer’s eye. An agile red panda with orange burnt fur, wearing a thick black hoodie and sporting a large fanny pack. Nick left his spot and nonchalantly sauntered toward the smaller mammal, paws firmly in his pockets. He seemed to be completely occupied with some cargo he was inspecting.

“My dearest Mister Wilde,” the small honeyed voice of the red panda acknowledged the approaching fox without taking his beady dark eyes off a tiny package he was currently enthralled with. “Or is it… Officer Wilde now, hmm?”

“Le Rouge,” Nick greeted. He stopped a few feet from the red panda, giving the nearby cargo a few taps with his knuckles. “Business is looking good.”

“Business is always looking very good. Perhaps I can interest you in something? Wholesale, of course!” Le Rouge clicked his tongue and finally turned to face the fox.

It took considerable effort to keep a poker face when Nick spied a familiar purple flower pinned near the hood of the red panda’s top. “Another time. However, I was wondering if a business mammal such as yourself might have been looking to expand his market reach recently.”

“Oh?”

“Maybe some interior design. I hear having an aquarium is all the rage lately. They say it really eases the stress after a hard day’s work.”

“Ho-ho-ho, my dearest officer,” Le Rouge scoffed, looking rather insulted. “I am simply a successful entrepreneur as you can see. I do not deal in such trivial business. Now, if there’s nothing else, I have an advisory board meeting to attend. A pleasant evening to you.”

Le Rouge slipped past Nick as several workers came by to begin loading the cargo they had been standing next to. Nick stepped out of the way and watched the red panda swiftly disappear around the corner.

Eager to get out of the rain, Nick made his way back down the dock, retrieving his little leaf umbrella and shook his wet fur, ready to head back home.

* * *

Once he had blow dried his fur and combed it meticulously, Nick was in his kitchen tossing a large portion of washed leafy greens into the air, letting them mix before putting them into a large tapirware bowl. He then vigorously shook a jar mixed with olive oil, apple vinegar, and sugar and poured it evenly over the salad. Satisfied with the results, he layered the top with several pawfuls of sacha inchi seeds for a little extra crunch. The final touch was a little artisan decoration of lupine to complete the meal.

Sealing the freshly made dinner, the fox checked his phone for the time. Judy had texted him earlier that she was heading home to freshen up. By now, Nick estimated that she should be done showering. Just as he grabbed the food and his keys, a light knock sounded from his door. The curious fox made his way over and opened it. To his surprise, there was Judy carrying a large plastic bag in both paws.

The fox and bunny eyed the contents the other was holding. A mutual chuckle was shared, along with warm smiles.

“Hi,” Judy spoke softly, lifting the bag up. “Surprise!”

“Looks like great minds think alike,” Nick smirked, his nose detecting the delicious smell of a spicy cricket burrito.

Judy skipped forward and wrapped her paws around Nick, who accepted the embrace by completely engulfing his petite girlfriend; careful not to drop the salad he had prepared for her.

Nick stroked the base of her ears as they lingered in their embrace. “Hope you worked up an appetite. Looks like with all this food, we’re eating like kings tonight.”

“Hmm. Well, you better be helping me with that salad. You made so much!” Judy said, finally looking over at the enormous bowl, not wanting Nick to stop his caressing.

“No promises,” he said, booping the top of her head with his nose while still whiffing the aroma of that burrito in Judy’s bag.

They made their way over to the kitchen. After grabbing some plates and utensils, Nick motioned to the patio with his snout. Judy bounced at the idea and they ate their dinner together in the large outdoor folding patio chair; enjoying the cool evening air with a view of the downtown skyline.

When the hungry pair finished, they reclined in the shared seat, bellies fully stuffed in satisfaction. Nick stretched himself along the entire length, while Judy lay to his side, snuggled under his left arm; her chin resting atop his torso. Nick was very lazily tracing a claw up and down the small of her back.

“You were at the station awhile,” he stated, looking to start some small chat.

“After I finished all the paperwork, I was going through the mammal database checking everyone’s records. All clean except for a few outstanding parking tickets.”

“Oh boy. Someone is gonna have to deal with the wrath of Officer Toot-Toot,” he teased, giving Judy a playful squeeze.

“Hush.” Judy swatted his snout to the side gently. “Anyway, Chief Bogo came by and I updated him on what we found. He’s letting us stay on the case unless something more important comes up.”

“Chief Buffalo Butt sure is getting soft. Maybe he likes fish too.”

A few beats of comfortable silence passed. Judy’s paw moved over to Nick’s heart.

“Nick.” The sound of the fox’s name brought his full attention to Judy. She looked up to meet his gaze. “About what happened earlier… I’m sorry I took it out on you. I’ve just never felt that way before. And the way she was touching you and what she said...”

“Judy,” Nick interrupted, a sincere smile and genuine softness in his voice, making Judy perk up. “I should have told Miss Paws-a-lot to back off right from the start. I’m sorry too.”

Judy snickered into Nick’s shirt, scooting further up so their faces would be closer.

“If that ever happens again, I’ll make sure to put a stop to it immediately. You know there’s only one bunny in uniform for me.”

“Is that so?” Judy asked, sitting up on his torso, hovering over Nick. There noses barely touching while her long ears fell across her face, looking down at Nick with amorous eyes.

Nick stopped running his claw along Judy’s back and parted her left ear away before gently cupping her cheek. The way he looked at her caused the bunny to ease forward and the two entered into a slow kiss. As the kiss deepened and the passion became heavier, Judy broke away for a moment, planting small kisses along Nick’s snout. With closed eyes, she made her way along, feeling his smile against her lips. When his warm paws slid down her back, she instinctively drew even closer. A strong need took over, spurring Judy to rub her chin against Nick in intimate desire.

The realization hit of what she was doing, prompting Judy to slow down and stop. The bunny pulled a short distance away to recover her breath, both paws scrunching up the fox’s shirt. When their eyes locked, Judy’s ears nervously folded behind her back. “Nick… I’m so sorry, I… I shouldn’t have done that without asking or making sure you wanted…”

The fox gently caressed two fingers across the bunny’s smaller mouth, effectively silencing her. In one swift motion, Nick gently lifted her so they could both sit in a more upright position before he drew closer, paws on her hips, sweeping his snout under Judy’s chin, nuzzling her lower neck. Judy closed her eyes as she craned her neck in response to allow him easier access as Nick brushed against the bunny with his cheek, slowly moving upwards. She knew what the gesture meant and it only made her heart beat faster, clutching the scruffy fur at the back of his neck to pull him closer.

When he finished, Nick rested his forehead against Judy’s. “Shall we turn in?”

“Okay,” she replied quietly, a thought flashing across her eyes. “I don’t really have any sleeping clothes here. And my uniform’s back at my place.”

“There’s plenty of shirts in the closet,” Nick said. “And we can swing by your place in the morning while getting my second round.”

 _Him and his coffee_ , Judy smiled to herself. She rested her chin on his snout and gave Nick’s chin a scratch. “You’re going to give me one of those Pawaiian shirts, aren’t you?”

“I thought rabbits loved soft and silky material.”

“Not when it makes me look like a traffic cone!” she teased.

“Wow.” Nick pretended to look offended, despite keeping his paws around her. He gave Judy a a playful pinch. “I should make you sleep on the couch for that one.”

“Oh. Would you?” she asked in a more sultry tone, gripping his paw still because it began to feel ticklish.

“No.”

“Good. Because I’d take you with me. Now come on,” she said, hopping off the chair.

Judy guided Nick back inside with both paws, as he stretched an arm behind him to close the sliding patio door. They didn’t bother to worry about tidying up as they disappeared into the bedroom.

* * *

“I made you another cup,” Judy said, coming by to drop off a fresh brew from one of the ZPD breakroom coffee machines.

The two officers had come in earlier since they needed to swing by Judy’s apartment to retrieve her uniform. Mornings that began even earlier weren’t always Nick’s cup of tea, and sometimes the fox would struggle in starting his day till a sufficient amount of coffee was consumed. Judy had been catching Nick up on her findings from the previous day in their shared cubicle as they waited for their lab results.

“Thanks, Carrots.” Nick scribbled a thought on a slip of paper as he continued to watch the footage from the aquarium. He was double checking it at Judy’s request, noting the activity of all the employees at particular time stamps.

“Find anything?” she asked, hopping into her small red seat and swivelling it towards him.

“Nothing new. Sleeping Beauty was pretty much locked in his office the entire time except for some bathroom breaks and Braveheart looked like he was doing his usual rounds till the incident.”

“Nick…” Judy chided him with a small arm tap at the nicknames but smiled anyway.

“Next up… our new favorite mammal left early like she said. She pass the alibi?”

“Not entirely,” Judy replied. Nick raised an eyebrow at her answer, waiting for Judy to continue. “The landlord did verify Kris coming home around noon, then leaving the building after nine… but didn’t see her when she came back home since they went to sleep. I called the bar and talked to some of the staff who were on shift that night and no one could give me a straight answer. They all claimed it was too busy for them to remember some little otter.”

“So hard to find good help these days,” Nick mused, resting his chin on a paw before moving on. “How about my twinsie?” 

“Rest assured… your _twinsie_ ,” Judy chuckled, “Checked out fine. Mrs. Beeve was really sweet and answered all my questions. And well…” Pausing for a moment, Judy looked a little hesitant, trying to find the right words to explain. “Let’s just say… he was definitely home the entire night.”

“Atta boy, Will,” Nick smirked proudly.

Judy just shook her head.

“And last but not least…” Nick began dramatically, checking his notes. “Looks like Captain Nemo stayed pretty late that day. Almost a seventeen hour shift. You said his missus checked him out too, right?”

“She did. But the thing is, Mrs. Loustreau told me he actually didn’t come home till after eleven. She mentioned him being very distracted and making several calls, even though it was late. And then he just stayed in his study. She went to bed without him and when she woke up in the morning, he was already gone.”

“Guess that grand reopening is really taking the wind out of his sails,” he commented, considering the information.

“Funny you should say that… I did some more digging and found this.” Judy took out a folder with some old articles and documents. She pulled out an old newspaper article about Jacques and the aquarium. “Look here. He wasn’t kidding about business being slow.”

The title gave away how the aquarium was steadily losing money. Then Judy revealed another article. “And this one mentions how several of his last expeditions for the new exhibit came out of his own savings.”

Nick glanced over the article with a whistle. “He really did go all in. Looks like there’s more at stake here than just his fish zoo. Wonder if that insurance he mentioned will bail him out.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just a hunch but… let’s say we don’t find these fish and that ruins their opening. Lost advertising money, poor turnout, bad publicity…” Nick ticked off each point with a finger. “Maybe they’ll have to close their doors. Then Captain Nemo might plead to City Hall for a bailout, file a chapter 11 bankruptcy, and try to start over but this time with cash in paw.”

“But he’s so genuine and passionate about his life’s work? What makes you think otherwise?”

“Part of me thinks it could just be an act to save his tail.”

Judy frowned at Nick’s words. For everything she loved about him, he still held a much more cynical view of the world.

“And that pin he was wearing,” Nick added.

“What pin?” she asked.

“Under his blazer he had a purple flower lapel. Exactly like the one I saw last night when I met an old… acquaintance, who’s known for being in the borrowing-permanently business.”

“What? Who?”

“A red panda named Le Rouge. He denied it, naturally.”

“Le Rouge… Le Rouge... “ Judy rubbed her chin, then suddenly almost jumped from her seat. “I’ve heard that name before! He’s been suspected in so many theft cases but…”

“But never caught red-handed? Yeah… he’s earned his reputation.”

Judy suddenly considered all of this new information, appearing to be in deep thought. “So, not calling the police right away, no signs of breaking and entering, a matching pin linked to a suspected master thief, knowing to scare Philip, disabling the right camera, and to hit the most important exhibit...”

“Right before the reopening? Yeah. Too many coincidences,” Nick added as he turned off the video footage. It reminded him of the other evidence. “What about the fur traces and claw marks we submitted?”

“Oh! Let me check with the lab again,” Judy said, reaching for her phone. “They sent me an email earlier that it should be done soon.”

Nick leaned back lazily in his chair as Judy talked to the technician. He watched as she grabbed her notepad and scribbled down some notes and thanked the tech. She immediately swiveled her seat back toward her partner. “You won’t believe this, Nick! They found traces of otter fur mixed in with the groundhog fur I collected where Philip was scared. And while they couldn’t ID the claw marks, they match with small to medium-sized predator claws.”

“This is sounding more and more like…” Nick said, looking at his partner with a smirk.

“... an inside job,” Judy finished.

“Sounds like we have a date at the fish zoo,” Nick said, sliding out of his seat and adjusted his tie. Judy did the same, grabbing her notepad and pen. “After you,” he gestured and followed his partner to the vehicle lot.

* * *

The officers arrived at the aquarium and made their way to the entrance. This time getting the attention of the bored hippo at the information booth in a more timely manner, Judy and Nick requested to see Will if he was on shift. The hippo sent a notification to the beaver who told her to have the officers meet him in the exhibit room where they met yesterday.

Inside the closed exhibit, Judy eyed some of the other habitats with her usual curious awe while Nick’s face was buried in his phone, leaning against the empty tank, as they waited for Will to arrive. Luckily, Kris was nowhere to be seen. Growing slightly impatient after a few minutes, the bunny noticed the same petting tank from yesterday. Curiosity took hold and she decided to pet a few sea creatures.

Glancing up from his phone to see what Judy was doing, made Nick smirk. He always enjoyed seeing that wide-eyed look of wonder on his girlfriend with her contagious bright smile. Catching some of her enthusiasm, he walked over to a different nearby habitat and watched some striking and colorful fish swim around, darting to and fro around their reef. He found it quite calming.

Lost in the moment, Nick suddenly felt a light touching of his tail, causing him to mildly stiffen at the caressing motion. He raised an eyebrow, drawing a devilish grin on his snout as he closed his eyes in amusement. “Why Officer Hopps… I didn’t think you’d ever be naughty on the clock,” he exclaimed.

“What are you talking about, Nick?”

The fox’s eyes shot open when the sound of Judy’s voice was heard off to his distant left, around the edge of the tank as she stepped into his view, wiping her paw dry.

“Now wait a minute… if you’re there, then who…” Nick mumbled then twisted his torso to look behind him. He was greeted with the sight of a familiar red creature currently being fascinated with his bushy tail.

“Oh my god!” Nick jumped backwards in a scared stance, clutching his tail tightly to his torso, with Judy bracing him from behind so he wouldn’t fall over. Just as the octopus was about to run away, a net came down to once again catch him, followed by boisterous laughter.

“He really loves you, officer!” Will laughed heartily, securing the escapee.

Even Judy couldn’t help but snicker which turned into genuine laughter when she saw the look on her poor partner’s face as he looked protective of his tail. Judy reached around Nick to give him a quick comforting belly scratch.

“Real funny, you two,” Nick drawled, his ears falling flat as he scowled at the octopus. “How does he keep getting out?”

“We think he’s learned to open the hatches after watching us come and go. Heck, we even found him in the pipes once. Almost got loose in the bay.” Will turned to face one of the cameras giving it a thumbs up.

“Victory pose?” Nick questioned.

“Was hunting this little dude for awhile after I saw he got out again. Victor told me he saw him running through here.”

Looking at the camera as it swiveled in their direction, Nick raised his thumb too. “Thanks for the heads up there, Vic. Appreciate it, pal!” he shouted, his voice laced with mild sarcasm. The camera responded by moving up and down like a nod.

“Hang tight, officers!” Will chuckled and disappeared with the red octopus.

Judy was still giggling from the scene.

“What’re you still laughing at, Fluff?”

“Oh, did my big brave fox get scared?” she teased by ruffling his shirt some more.

Nick just crossed his arms, still feeling scandalized. Before Judy could tease him some more, Will returned, now chewing on a wood chip.

“Alrighty then! What’s up?” Will asked cheerfully.

With the renegade octopus locked away, Judy noticed that Will was wearing a green Pawaiian shirt, much like Nick’s favorite one. This made her smirk. _Twinsies indeed._

With pen and pad at the ready, Judy took the lead. “We have some more questions if you can spare a few minutes, Will?”

“Totally. Lay it on me, law-mammals,” he said with a smile.

“We were wondering if there’s any other way in or out of the tanks?”

“Other than the hatches? There’s the filtration system, I suppose,” Will said as he casually chewed on his chip. “We remove them weekly for cleaning.”

“How does it work?” Judy asked.

The beaver removed the wood chip from his mouth, using it as a pointing stick. “Each tank has a special filter, kinda like a pool, where we collect all the fish business and impurities. Some of these little dudes require a lot of care to keep ’em healthy. We move a lot of water, purify it, test it, then recycle it to the tank to keep it as close to their natural environment as we can.”

“You mentioned the octopus almost getting into the bay earlier. Was it through the filter?” Nick asked as he looked around the edges of the habitat.

“Yeah, we suspect he did. They are removable. The filtration system does connect with the drain pipes out back,” Will said pointing behind him with his thumb.

“Really?” Nick mused, scratching his chin, recollecting the time he and Judy flushed themselves down a toilet and into a waterfall. “How big are these pipes?”

“Decent size. You and I could swim through them if we had to,” Will said.

The two officers exchanged a quick glance. “Do you have blueprints of the pipe system? Can we see them?” Judy asked.

“Yeah, sure. Come on over.” Will beckoned Nick and Judy to follow.

The beaver led them further back into another storage area that also looked like a locker room. Will unlocked a file cabinet and rummaged through several folders till he found what he was looking for. He spread the blueprints out on the floor as all three mammals kneeled down over the large map.

“Here’s our tank,” Will pointed to the location then traced a finger along the schematic. “Goes here… to there… and that’s the main set of drains.”

Nick shot Judy an expectant look and she nodded. “Will, we want to take a look outside.”

“No prob. There’s a shortcut right over here.” The beaver pointed at a door on the blueprints, before rolling them up. “I’ll get the door for ya.”

After opening the back door, Will stayed behind as Nick and Judy walked along the outside perimeter by the shore of the Lion’s Tail river. Soon they came upon a set of drainpipes that emptied into the river where it drained into the bay.

Nick climbed to the top of the pipes jutting over the water and looked around. “At least it’s only a twenty foot drop instead of a two-hundred foot one.”

Judy chuckled at the memory before focusing back on the task at paw. “This pipe here… is the one Will showed us.” She pointed to the leftmost drain.

Standing over the pipe in question, Nick turned to look around to survey the building. “I have an idea. Stay right there.”

Doing as she was told, Judy watched as Nick walked a short distance ahead. He was looking up and down the walls until he spotted what he was looking for. An outside security camera. He took out his phone, pointing to it while waving at the camera.

Within a minute, his phone rang. “Hey Vic. How’s it hanging? Listen, pal… can you do me a solid and track us by the pipes over here? Great! Let me know if we step out of view.”

Returning over to Judy, Nick held his phone as he sauntered around the pipes area. Victor informed the fox officer to stop when he was no longer visible on camera. Nick motioned for Judy to walk around and she tested the other direction. With the opossum's help, they learned that there was indeed a blind spot at three of the drains, including the one leading to the Pawcific Exhibit. Nick thanked Victor for his assistance and hung up.

“So someone could have swam up from the river and entered this pipe,” Judy said, looking at the water and then the drain.

“Well, we’ve got five suspects, right?” Nick said, thinking out loud. “One of whom would probably fall asleep and drown… another who’d probably blackout the moment he put his pinky toe in the water… which leaves us with three semi-aquatic mammals… one of whom has a solid alibi while the other two are shaky. And the fact that we found traces of otter fur, leaving us with two otters...”

“...who could have entered the tank through the filter,” Judy finished.

“One way to find out!” Nick smirked. “Wanna do the honors? I know rabbits love burrowing into deep places.”

“You’d love that wouldn’t you, Nick?” Judy stuck her tongue out at her partner. She stepped closer and began to fiddle with his tie, giving Nick a rather wishful look. “Besides, wouldn’t a slim nocturnal mammal such as yourself be much more suited for the job? Will said you’d fit, hmm?”

“Uh… you know, Will did show us that this pipe goes to the tank,” Nick said, shoving his paws in his pockets, avoiding her gaze. “No reason to doubt him, right? We should just go ask him about that filter.”

“Good idea,” Judy smiled with satisfaction. She gave her partner’s tie a playful tug and headed back to the aquarium. “Maybe something could have gotten stuck in it!”

Back inside, Will locked the door once Nick and Judy stepped in.

“Find whatever you were looking for, officers?” he asked.

“Actually, we have another question. Did you find anything in the tank’s filter?” Judy asked.

“Have to ask Philip on that one. He empties them out into the trash,” Will said, scratching his cheek. “I’ll take ya over to him.”

“Thank you so much for your cooperation today, Will,” Judy said cheerfully. “We really appreciate it. And please keep this visit between us.”

“Sure thing, Officer Hopps.”

Will dropped Nick and Judy off at the other storage room past the skimmers where Philip’s station was located. He was in the process of emptying a medium-sized bin. Judy approached the sensitive groundhog with care while Nick hung back to give Philip a little more space.

“Philip. Hi,” Judy spoke softly with a small wave. “It’s me again, Officer Judy Hopps.”

“Oh. Hello,” he replied meekly.

“Officer Wilde and I have a question for you if it’s okay.”

“Okay,” he simply replied, holding onto the trash bag from the bin.

“Will said you clean the tank filters. Did you notice anything unusual when you cleaned the one the halofish were in recently?”

It took a moment for the groundhog to recall, his brow furrowing in thought. “There… there was a clump of fur. I mean… there’s always some when the staff go into the tanks but never that much.”

Judy glanced back at Nick who raised his brow, giving her an ‘oh really’ face. She turned back to Philip. “Philip, do you know who usually goes into the tanks?”

“The aquarists and cleaning divers. And sometimes Mr. Loustreau likes to go inside too.”

“Is the trash still here?” Judy asked.

“Yeah… yeah it is. I was just going to the dumpster,” Philip said, tying up the bag. He then headed to another of the back doors, Judy following with Nick behind her.

Unlocking the door, Philip swung it open. A large blue dumpster sat against the east-facing wall.

“You’re lucky. Trash pickup is tomorrow,” Philip said as he used a stepping ladder to reach the top and looked inside. “I dumped it into a hipplock bag. It’s in there… somewhere.”

“Thank you so much. We can take it from here!” Judy said, preparing her tweezers and evidence bag.

Nick perched himself against the wall and whipped out his phone, already thumbing away at some app. “Well Carrots, hop to it. Lemme know if you find anything.”

“Oh-ho, I don’t think so, Nick! If I’m going in there, you’re going in there with me,” Judy said, glaring at him with both paws on her hips.

“Uh… officers…” Philip’s timid voice came from the door before either of them could argue further. “I got you some gloves.”

“Grab those gloves and let’s go,” Judy ordered.

“But there’s icky things in there and I just had my nails done! And I dry-cleaned my uniform,” he stood upright and flashed his paws while making excuses. “See? Would you really want these ruined?”

Judy’s glare only intensified, her foot going into a high-speed thump. “You aren’t playing the delicate flower card with me.”

Nick sighed. “Okay, okay! Wouldn’t want to spontaneously combust where I’m standing.” He pushed himself off the wall and grabbed the two pairs of gloves that Philip was offering. “Hey Philip, ol’ pal. Do you think I could get another pair? Maybe in an extra large? I wanna double wrap it just to be safe. Maybe throw in a nose clamp if you have one? Thanks!” Nick requested.

Glancing over at Judy, he didn’t think she could look any more annoyed at him. She stomped over and grabbed his tie. “On second thought, we’re good!” he managed before getting yanked away.

Several minutes later, both the fox and bunny continued to rummage through the dumpster in search of their potential clue under the hot Saharan heat.

“Well, this brings back some memories,” Nick commented as he meticulously dug through a rather unpleasant-smelling pile.

Judy was sifting around in her side of the trash. Her ears drooped a little when she looked over at Nick while wiping her brow. Judging by his strained face and body language, he seemed to be putting in a considerable amount of effort into forcing himself to dig around. It made the bunny wonder if this reminded him too much of his former life. Judy internally kicked herself and made a mental note to make it up to him later.

“Boy, mammals sure throw away perfectly good stuff. I mean look at this thing.” Nick held up what appeared to be a very small soft-looking towel in good condition with a whimsical bark pattern on it. “One hundred percent Supuma cotton… so fluffy. I once had to wear a...”

With a gasp, Judy immediately sat upright, shaking excitedly as she recalled Philip’s missing binky. “Oh Nick! I think that might be Philip’s baby towel!”

“What?” he paused and looked over his find.

Jumping up to the edge of the dumpster, Judy waved over to the groundhog. “Philip! Could you come here, please? I think we found something.”

The groundhog cautiously wobbled over. “What is it, officer? What did you…” Nick held the towel up over the edge so he could see it. “Oh… oh my… oh my… that’s my BINKY! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Nearly grabbing at it with excited paws, Nick released the towel so it could fall into Philip’s embrace. He didn’t seem to care at all how dirty or smelly it was as he hugged it tightly.

“Say, pal. Didn’t you say you lost that towel earlier? Guess you must have thrown it away on accident, huh?” Nick asked peeking over the edge at the groundhog.

“I would never throw it away on accident!” Philip said. He seemed a whole lot less timid now with his anti-fear totem. “I have no idea why it would be here in the trash!”

The officers exchanged a questioning glance.

“Let’s keep digging,” Judy suggested.

With renewed energy, both officers searched harder. Judy pushed apart a bunch of soda cans to reveal a clear plastic bag with a clump of fur and dried sediment. “I think I found it!”

Nick smiled, happy that they found what they were looking for and quite ready to jump out of there. Judy held up the bag so Philip could see it.

“Is this the bag, Philip?”

“Yeah. That’s the bag I threw out the other day,” he said.

Judy nearly did a happy binky at the confirmation. Just as Nick was about to stand, he spied another curious item near his left foot. A familiar looking pill bottle. He picked it up and shook it. “This bottle is half-full.”

Perking up at his words, Judy offered him an unexpected beaming smile. “Aww, Nick! You called the bottle ‘half-full’ instead of ‘half-empty’. You’re making progress.”

Naturally, he couldn’t help but return a smirk. “Well, you’re half-right.”

Shaking her head, Judy crossed her arms. “And just like that, the magic is gone,” she teased. Looking a little closer at the bottle, Judy narrowed her eyes. “Wait! Nick! What does that label say?”

“Huh?” He turned the bottle around in his paw and his eyes widened. “Victor O’Posson. Modafinil 200mg. And the expiration date is still good…”

“Why would he throw these away? I thought he needed them to stay awake?”

Gesturing to get out of the dumpster, Nick climbed out, followed by Judy. She watched as Nick moved away from the trash and brought the pill bottle up to his nose. He cupped the top before popping the lid and took a few whiffs.

“There’s two different smells here,” Nick declared.

“You don’t suppose… We need to go see Victor!” Judy said, already tugging at her partner’s arm.

The officers thanked Philip and ran back inside the aquarium, leaving the blissfully happy groundhog with his most treasured item. They arrived at the upstairs security office and knocked on the door, quickly going inside once Victor unlocked it remotely.

“Officers,” he greeted in his usual upside down position. The opossum looked much more lively than on their previous meeting. They noticed his nose wrinkle from their newly-acquired scents. Victor seemed to struggle to remain polite about the smell now wafting in his office. “Did you need something?”

“Actually, pal… we wanted to ask you about these,” Nick said as he flashed the pill bottle from the dumpster. “Any reason to throw away perfectly good pills?”

“Perfectly crappy pills if you ask me,” Victor replied with a huff and crossed his arms. “I’ve been falling asleep constantly the past couple days. When the boss sent me home yesterday, I passed out on the bus ride home. When I woke up, I was in a hospital bed wearing a patient gown. The passengers thought I was dead! Do you know how embarrassing that is? Thank god no one stole my watch this time. I thought those days were behind me!”

“So you got new pills?” Nick asked, spying a fresh bottle on the opossum's desk.

“Yeah. I demanded to see my doctor and told her what was happening. She gave me a new prescription and I tossed that bottle in the trash.”

“Well, now… this just keeps getting better and better,” Nick mumbled to himself. “Thanks for your time, buddy!”

“That’s it? You just came to ask about my pills?” Victor asked in a confused tone.

“Yup. We really appreciate it, Victor. Thank you,” Judy said. “We’ll be going now. Goodbye!”

“Bye now,” Nick waved and the officers let themselves out.

They quickly made their way back to their cruiser. Judy opened the trunk and retrieved their portable fur sample kit. She held the fur clump against the samples. It was nearly identical to the otter fur but they needed to be completely certain.

“C’mon, Nick. Let’s get back to the station,” Judy said hopping to the driver’s side door.

Nick closed the trunk and followed. “Right behind you, boss.”

* * *

“Okay, I just submitted the evidence to the lab and asked them to expedite it,” Judy said returning to their cubicle.

Her partner was pecking away at his keyboard updating their case file. “Who’s handling it?”

“Hurriet.”

This made Nick swivel around in his chair with a smirk. “She’s no Flash but she’ll get the job done.”

A few officers passed by, noses wrinkling and shot glances their way, before quickly putting some distance between the not-so-fresh fox and rabbit.

“We should shower while we wait. Wanna go first?” Judy offered after taking the hint, knowing Nick would probably be dying to freshen up and change.

“You go. Ladies first,” he said, turning back to his keyboard and working on the file.

“Hey,” Judy said, walking up to his chair and putting both paws on his leg. The two mammals gazed upon each other. “I know you didn’t like going into that trash. I’ll finish this up, okay?”

“You drive a hard bargain, Madam,” Nick smiled and slowly stood. Judy caught a small wag of his tail.

“Good.” Judy pulled him down by the tie to plant a quick nuzzle to his cheek. “Now go, stinky fox!” she said, playfully shoving him out of the cubicle.

Soon Nick was back, all clean and wearing his backup uniform that he kept in the ZPD locker room. Despite trying to be quick so Judy could take her turn, he returned to find that his partner already finished the case update and got him a small surprise. A heart-shaped blueberry tart which Nick graciously accepted. He offered a piece to Judy who refused and hopped down the hallway to take her turn in freshening up.

Once the bunny returned, Judy found Nick on the office phone talking to someone. He appeared to be listening intently and nodding every so often. “All right. Thanks a mil. You’re aces!”

Judy couldn’t help but eagerly skip a little if that was Hurriet calling. Nick’s nose alerted him that his partner had returned.

“Good, you’re back,” Nick said excitedly. “Just got the results. One hundred percent otter fur. And it matched the fur we found mixed in with Philip’s.”

“And the pills?” Judy asked.

“Over the counter Aspirin.”

Judy’s jaw dropped. “Someone swapped his pills? No wonder Victor was falling asleep!”

“And now who could that someone be? We’ve got two possible otters on our paws,” Nick said leaning over his legs on his elbows.

“But you still think it’s Jacques, right?”

“That’s where I’d put my chips right now,” Nick said. “He’s got the most going against him. And the most to lose.”

“We should go and bring him in for questioning,” Judy said grabbing their cruiser keys.

The officers moved with purpose as they headed down the hallway that led to Director Jacques Loustreau’s office. When they arrived, they heard quite a heated shouting match behind the closed door. Nick and Judy glanced at each other and waited. It wasn’t long before the door suddenly burst open, causing them both to start and jump to the side, followed by an enraged Kris storming out.

“I can’t believe you wore that!” she roared.

“Kris, wait, my dear! I didn’t know…”

“Don’t ‘dear’ me! You… you… big jerk! I’m going home!” she yelled, completely ignoring the officers and stomped away, angrily running her paws through her fur.

“Wait! Kris!” Jacques shouted, appearing through the door, nearly out of breath. “Oh! Officers? This is an unexpected surprise. I must apologize for that scene…”

“May we come in, sir?” Judy asked gently.

“Yes. Please…” Jacques moved to the side and gestured.

As they stood behind the desk, Nick caught the shiny glistening of the purple flower lapel pin under Jacques’s blue blazer.

With a heavy sigh, Jacques slumped into his large leather seat and grabbed a half-empty glass of scotch that he must have poured earlier. He noticed the two officers watching him. “Forgive my manners. May I offer you a drink, officers?”

“Not on the clock, sir,” Judy replied.

“Yes, of course. What was I thinking… I seem to be quite aloof lately,” he muttered to himself. “How can I help you both today? Has there been any progress in finding our dwarf halofish?”

“Unfortunately nothing yet, Mr. Loustreau,“ Judy replied. “However, we need you to come down to the station with us.”

“Beg your pardon?” he asked in complete surprise.

“Sir, we need to go over your statement regarding your alibi again. We would really appreciate your cooperation,” Judy said gently but with an undertone of authority.

“Very well,” he said quietly, finishing the last of his poured scotch and stood with dignity, keeping his paws behind his back.

The three mammals exited the building and headed back to Precinct One.

* * *

“Here you are, sir,” Nick said, sliding over a glass of water to the otter.

“Je vous remercie, Officer Wilde,” Jacques said.

They were sitting in Interview Room #2. Making sure their potential suspect was comfortable, Nick and Judy were ready to begin a round of questioning use the Reid technique to ‘pick holes’ as the cops liked to call it against Jacques’ given alibi. Judy was sitting across from Jacques, her notepad spread in front of her as she reviewed her facts.

“Could you describe to us again what happened the day before the crime and when you’re staff called you, please,” Judy said, notepad open to the notes taken from that day.

“I spent most of my day in my office, making calls. When I could finally get away, I checked on my employees and walked through the aquarium. I find it calms me down when I can sit and just watch the ocean life quietly. So beautiful! Sometimes I like to suit up and go into the tanks and swim with the fish.” Realizing he might start to ramble about sea life again, Jacques sat up and cleared his throat. “I stayed until almost nine, said my goodbyes to Philip and Victor, and then I went home. I spent some time with my wife and then the phone rang around 4:30AM when Philip called about the robbery.”

“Are you sure it was nine o’clock when you went home, sir?” Judy asked after glancing at her notes.

The older otter paused for a moment. “Positive, my dear.”

“According to our records you live only fifteen minutes away and your wife told me you didn’t come home till after eleven. You said you spent time with her but she said you seemed distressed that evening and spent the rest of the night alone in your study. She also told us she never heard the phone ring and you were already gone when she woke up. You originally said Philip’s phone call woke you both.”Judy stated her facts calmly.

“That can’t be… She must be remembering a different night,” Jacques sputtered.

“Sir, I only asked your wife about the night of the crime, two days ago,” Judy said sternly, adopting a more authoritative tone.  Is there something you aren’t telling us? I can have her come down to the station and verify what she told us.”

“Please, no!” came the unexpected outburst. There was a pause as Jacques rubbed his weary eyes. “Dear me… I really do not want her to find out about our financial situation… It is true I did not go home right away. I drove down to South Shore, to watch the waves on the beach. I wanted to get away from all the damn phone calls. These investors would not leave me alone… calling several times a day…”

“What do you mean, sir? What investors?” Nick finally spoke up.

“Property investors. I always get offers to purchase the aquarium so they can get a hold of the land it is on. We are fortunate to be in such a beautiful location. Lately, one particular investor will not stop hounding me… calling all hours of the day, everyday… It has gotten worse since the crime. That’s why I did not report it right away. Every time something goes wrong, they call…”

Nick cocked an eyebrow while Judy continued to take notes.

“They even called me again last night… in my home! I was actually almost considering the deal if the fish could not be found and we could not continue to meet our operating costs,” Jacques lamented with a frustrated sigh, nearly going into tears.

They let him have a moment as Nick considered his words and then rounded the corner of the interview desk, stooping down to gesture toward the otter’s blazer. “I have a different question, sir. Where did you get this lapel?” The fox officer asked in a friendly tone.

Once he collected himself, the otter looked down at the pin in question. “I found it,” Jacques simply stated.

“You found it?” Nick repeated in disbelief.

“Yes. Two days ago in the parking lot when I was going home. I happened to notice it when I was getting into my car. It looked so elegant… I thought it was a shame that someone lost it. So I decided to keep it for myself. I was thinking of putting it in the lost and found today when… I found out it belonged to Kris…”

“What do you mean, sir? Is that why she was so mad?” Nick asked.

“Yes,” came another weary sigh. “She came to talk to me about one of the habitats and when she saw the pin… well you probably heard the rest...”

“But why was she so upset Mr. Loustreau, if you didn’t know anything about it?” Judy chimed in.

“Kris told me she threw it away so she would not have to look at it ever again. That it was an ugly reminder of her recent breakup,” Jacques paused to completely finish his water. “I do not think it helped that I was wearing it considering our… history.”

Both officers looked at the older otter with expectant expressions.

Jacques stayed silent for a moment before reluctantly deciding to continue. “We used to date. Inseparable, we were. Then one day, she introduced me to Simone and… we hit it off immediately, it was just like out of a book — love at first sight! Kris was not happy when we told her. Possibly even less so when she was asked to be one of my wife’s bridesmaids. She caught the bouquet during the reception and snapped it in half and told my wife and I that we were ruining our lives.”

Nick and Judy exchanged a long incredulous glance.

“We had forgiven her. She is one of my best employees. And now this happens. I thought things could not get any worse…” the director whimpered in his seat. “My life’s work… everything… will be gone.”

“Sir, do you know who might have given this pin to Kris?” Nick asked.

“No, Officer Wilde. I do not. That is the truth,” he said pitifully.

“I see. We’re going to need to take that pin if you’d be so kind,” Nick said.

“Please, by all means,” Jacques removed the pin and held it for Nick to take. “I do not want to see that thing again.”

Rolling the pin around in his fingers, Nick put the piece of evidence away.

Judy leaned forward in her seat. “Mr. Loustreau, do you know if Kris is working tomorrow?”

“She has the morning off but is expected to come in the afternoon. If she even decides to after what happened today.”

“Thank you, sir,” Judy said, making note of that. “We appreciate you coming in. You’re free to go home now.”

“I know you cannot tell me what this is about, officers, but I still want to thank you for taking the time to help,” Jacques nodded.

The officers returned the nod and escorted Jacques through the building and to the lobby. Back at their desk, they attempted to plan their next move.

“So it looks like Jacques may not be responsible after all,” Judy mused from her chair.

“Guess I should be glad I was wrong,” Nick said. He was leaning against the edge of the desk with his arms crossed. He took out the pin once more, staring at the small purple flower in his palm. “I don’t know if those investors he mentioned have any ties to this… but all other signs seem to be pointing to Miss Paws-a-lot now.”

“Why do you think she would do it?” Judy genuinely asked.

“Petty revenge? Hell hath no fury like a mammal scorned,” Nick said.

“But she loves her job? If the aquarium gets closed… It doesn’t make any sense,” Judy said.

“Sometimes mammals do things that don’t make any sense, Carrots. I’ve seen it far too many times,” Nick stated with what sounded like painful experience. “And all we have is this pin.”

“I guess so,” Judy reluctantly agreed. “If she did do it or was involved… how are we going to approach her?”

Nick scratched his chin for a moment. He decided to put the lapel pin away in his pocket when his paw felt something else there. Looking down, he’d forgotten that he kept Kris’ business card that the otter forced upon him the previous day. Flipping it over, he saw that her personal cell number was written on the back with a heart next to it.

When Nick didn’t answer right away, Judy looked over to watch his face morph into a frown as he appeared to be in deep thought looking at a card in his paw.

“Nick? What’s wrong?” she stepped closer and put a paw on his leg.

A moment later, Nick let out a deep sigh. “Judy... “ His partner’s face involuntarily lit up at the sound of her name. “I have an idea and I don’t think you’re going to like it.”

* * *

“You’re right, Nick. I don’t like this at all,” Judy huffed, doing her best to keep the acid out of her voice, buttoning up her partner’s shirt after double-checking the hidden wire underneath.

“We don’t have to do this,” he sighed, keeping his arms spread as he sat in his cubicle seat. “It was a dumb idea.”

“If Kris is going to talk, you’re probably the only one who can make her,” Judy stated flatly. She finished making her way up his shirt, leaving the top two buttons undone; just the way Nick liked it before moving on to his tie. “We only have today left to solve this case.”

“I’ll make sure to lay down some ground rules. No touching allowed for Miss Pawsy McPawserson,” Nick said, trying to lighten the mood.

Even Judy couldn’t help but let a tiny smile creep up her muzzle at the nickname. She finished tying Nick’s tie, the one that belonged to his Dad, in a windsor knot that he had taught her. With a final secure tug, she let her paw linger for a moment against his chest. “There. All done.”

Nick reached for his blazer, sliding it on and put the pin in one of his pockets, along with a portion of the fur clump from the filter. Judy thought they might be useful as leverage depending on how the conversation with Kris would go. The bunny was dressed in her usual field outfit with a jacket over her vest. She secured her carrot pen to her belt and let Nick know she was ready to go.

After double checking his clothes, Nick gave Judy a warm smile and a wink. “You’re pretty good with your paws there, officer. Bet you’d make a great tailor on the side.”

Judy tugged on the tie to bring Nick lower so she could plant a quick nose boop. “All right, time to work that charm, Catsanova. Let’s go.”

The officers drove to a small coffee placed called Ungu-lattés Cafe in Sahara Square and parked their cruiser out of sight one lot over. They entered and secured two adjacent booths in the quiet corner. Judy ordered a drink and took her seat, facing the opposite direction but keeping herself between the booth and the door. Nick had let her borrow one of his caps which she placed on her head along with her aviators and pretended to be just another customer reading a gossip magazine.

Soon an ecstatic Kris arrived a few minutes early. She was wearing her usual pink flower, pinned to one ear, a rather form-fitting summer dress and her scarf, tightly wrapped around her neck despite the outside heat. Nick waved her over to the booth which she glided into effortlessly, sitting across from the fox.

“Hello, officer! I’m so happy you called,” Kris said, offering him a genuinely sweet smile. “Are you off-duty today?”

Nick inwardly sighed. Even if Kris was the culprit, he wasn’t exactly thrilled to be hustling her on a pretend date. _Play it cool, Wilde._ “Just on lunch break. Call me Nick,” he smiled back.

“Okay, Nick. I really like your shirt; so colorful! But I have to admit, I do love a mammal in uniform,” she purred, resting her chin over clasped paws.

“Why thank you, Kris,” Nick said. He curiously eyed the tightly-worn scarf once more. “Nice scarf. Is it a Bearberry?”

“Oh, you really know your styles! I’m impressed, Nick,” she replied, running a paw down the fabric. “I got this is as a Christmas present from my Mom a few years ago.”

“Not feeling a little warm with it on today?” he asked.

Kris hesitated for a moment, her smile completely wilting before she pulled the scarf even tighter around her neck. “I get cold.”

Watching her reaction, Nick changed topics. Mammals loved to talk about themselves; no reason Kris should be any different. He leaned forward on one paw, feigning his interest. “So what’s it like being an aquarist? How’d you figure that’s what you wanted to do?”

Kris’ face brightened instantly. “When I was a little girl, Mom and I would go to the fish market all the time and I could just watch the live fish in the tanks swim all day. It made me want to learn all about them. When I found out I could study Marine Biology, I decided to become a vegan and pursued that as my career!”

“Must have been a dream come true to land a job at the aquarium. What’s it like working with such a motley crew?” Nick asked, trying to steer the conversation into more specific territory.

Shifting slightly in her seat, Kris tried to reach across the table and change the topic. “I’d rather you tell me what it’s like being a police officer, cutie.”

Before she had a chance to touch his paw, Nick shifted it under his chin while tucking the other away under that arm as a prop. “Nothing you’d find exciting. Parking tickets and traffic duty aren’t exactly hot topics.”

“Oh? I heard officers sometimes do… uh, ride-alongs? Maybe you could give me a tour in your police car? I’m sure we could come up with some hot topics there…”

 _Dammit…_ It was taking the fox his maximum effort to keep a straight, smiling face. “Uh… well, we um… usually only do those as part of our community activities for kits.”

A tiny muffled groan could be heard behind the fox, as his ears flicked to the sounds of his poor girlfriend’s disapproval. Judy found her claws digging into the magazine with a glare that could burn a hole right through it. She closed her eyes to take a deep breath. _Just an act, Judy… just an act, just an act…_

“Too bad…” Kris said, looking disappointed but leaned closer.

“How about I get us a drink? My treat!” Nick offered, looking to take a break and hopefully let this otter cool her jets for a moment.

“Sure! I’ll take a Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte but with coconut milk please.”

“Coming right up,” Nick said as he quickly shuffled away. _Could use a shot, myself._

Thankful that the camel barista behind the counter took her sweet time, Nick came back, subtly shooting Judy an apologetic glance and scooted back into his seat. Kris happily took her latte, enjoying the aroma and taste of her favorite drink.

“So being an aquarist… what’s it like diving into those tanks with all the neat fish?” Nick said attempted to start over as he took his own sip.

“I don’t want to talk about my job,” Kris said, her voice laced with a hint of sudden bitterness.

“That’s a shame. I was hoping to hear more about that special little tour you offered me,” Nick prodded.

Whatever excitement Kris previously had about that idea seemed to have vanished entirely. She had involuntarily frowned and then forced a smile back on her muzzle. “Come on cutie, do we really have to talk about my job? I can think of plenty more fun conversations…” Once again she tried to reach out and touch Nick.

Nick expertly picked up his coffee and leaned out of reach. “I just think what you do is so fascinating and…”

“I don’t want to talk about the aquarium!” came her raw outburst. Kris was now crossing her arms, no longer being the sweet and forward little otter from two seconds ago.

The ex-hustler read her tone and body language. This tactic had reached an impasse. Nick decided to take a gamble and be perfectly frank. He leaned forward, directly looking into the otter’s eyes with a rather unexpectedly serious expression. The sudden intensity of his gaze made the angry otter soften considerably.

“All right, look. I invited you here because you know something we need.” Nick paused to tap the booth behind him. “Come on over and join us, Officer Hopps.”

Surprised at Nick’s change in tactic, Judy put the magazine down, slid out of the booth and hopped over. The bunny opted to stand in case Kris might try something and removed her aviators.

Nick reached into his pocket and pulled out the purple flower lapel pin and placed it on the table between them. “Kris. Who gave you this?”

The stunned otter looked at the rabbit, then at the offensive piece of jewelry and immediately narrowed her eyes, focusing all her rage on the flower. “Where did you get that!?”

“Jacques gave it to us. Said it belonged to you.”

“I’m going to tell you the same thing I told him… I threw it away because I didn’t want to see that stupid flower ever again! You jerks! I’m done!”

“Kris,” this time it was Judy who spoke softly. “Listen, we really need your cooperation because the evidence we’ve gathered so far… points to you.”

“What!?” the otter exclaimed, now standing in her seat.

“It’s true. There’s too many coincidences with what happened to Victor and Philip, no signs of breaking in, your alibi has holes, and this…” Nick pulled out the fur clump. “This was at the crime scene. Otter fur.”

Kris instinctively reached to touch the back of her neck, covered by her scarf, with a rather painfully glum expression. This gesture did not escape Nick and Judy’s observation.

“Who gave you this?” Nick asked again softly, gesturing to the flower. “Please.”

Letting out the loudest groan possible, causing several customers’ heads to turn, Kris crossed her arms again. “I never wanted to think about that scumbag again.”

“What scumbag?”

“My ex, of course! That two-faced, flea-ridden, overly musky, lying sack of… rhino turd!”

Both officers’ eyes widened at the insults.

“Now, now, there, there…” Nick said with both paws out hoping to calm the otter. “Who is this guy?”

“A wolverine named Jack,” she spat.

“Does this Jack have a last name?”

“Tch. If I knew it, I would have said it, wouldn’t I?” she snapped.

Nick paused briefly, giving Kris a moment to herself. “Listen, I think might we know a mutual friend of this guy and…”

“Who? Where!? If he knows where that jerk is, I wanna see him to I can give him a piece of my mind!”

“Ma’am, we don’t know what happened between you and…” Judy spoke up trying to calm Kris down.

“I’ll show you what happened!” Kris tore off her scarf and painfully looked away, revealing a large missing section of fur at the nape of her neck. “My beautiful fur… He did this… After I brought him to work so he could meet everyone… and let him spend the night at my home… I woke up with my fur gone and a note telling me ‘Thanks for the good time, baby. We’re through.’ with a smiley muzzle...”

Both officers’ ears fell and they shared a glance. A sudden realization hit Nick.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa… whoa…” Nick exclaimed. “You took this guy to the aquarium?”

“Yeah,” Kris huffed, tying her scarf back around her neck. “He always loved it when I would talk about work. When I told him about our special tours for family and friends, he insisted on going. So I brought him to work a few days ago. Hmph! He paid more attention to Philip and Victor than me; kept doing these stupid magic tricks to entertain them and talking forever.”

“Do you have his phone number or address?” Nick asked, making sure to keep his voice gentle.

“You don’t think I tried to call him? The jerk’s number is no longer in service. And he never took me to his place. Always had me meet him in the Rainforest District.”

Nick’s ears perked at the mention of the Rainforest. “Where in the Rainforest?”

“I’ll show you if you take me with you,” she growled.

“Kris, you do know withholding information is obstruction of justice? You don’t want to do that. Right?”

“I don’t care! You called me here. Do you want to know or not?” Kris demanded, keeping her arms crossed.

With a heavy sigh, Nick furrowed his brow and turned to Judy for help, pleading with his eyes. She didn’t like this either. Putting a paw on Nick’s arm, she turned to the raging otter. “Kris, if you come with us, you’ll have to stay in the cruiser. Deal?”

“Whatever.”

The three mammals stood and awkwardly shuffled out of the cafe. Nick quietly whispered into Judy’s ear. “Are you sure about this?”

“No. But we’re losing time and this sounds suspicious. What if this turns into a lead?”

“Just drive fast. Really fast. Please,” Nick begged with his paws clasped.

* * *

Judy turned north on the junction as they entered the Rainforest District from the northern part of Downtown. They drove along Shady Place and turned onto Fog Street.

“Kris,” Nick began, turning in his seat to look at the angry otter sitting in the back of the cruiser. “We’re gonna need to know where we’re heading.”

She caught his gaze for a moment, before her eyes downcast at the floor panel. “Little marketplace by Haymarket and Vapor.”

The fox’s officer’s eyes widened at those street names. “Haymarket and Vapor…” he mumbled to himself. “Carrots, I think I know where we should go…”

“Where, Nick?”

“I’ll tell you once we get closer.”

They continued north. Once Judy turned up the windy Vapor Road, Nick navigated the rest of the route. The trio soon arrived at a small nook, where Nick told his partner to park and cut the engine. She kept the battery power on so they could still use the windshield wipers.

“A blimp warehouse?” Judy asked, looking out beyond the windshield.

“A hunch,” Nick said, opening the glove box and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for, a requisitioned pair of binoculars. Perfect for any stakeout.

Surprisingly Kris managed to stay quiet and kept to herself, despite looking like she might explode at any given moment. Occasionally, she took her phone out and sent some texts or browsed through her social media.

“I’m cold,” she declared loudly.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Nick muttered.

“You say something?”

“Some hot air coming right up,” he replied and hit the air conditioner.

Judy gave Nick a small tap with her leg. While they waited, Nick decided to get back into his police uniform. Double-checking that no one was around, he quickly swapped shirts and then expertly changed pants, making sure Kris didn’t get a free show.

Afterwards, he was back to watching the dock. Over an hour had passed when a blimp finally landed and some workers began their task to unload the cargo. He smiled when he saw the mammal he was hoping to see. “I see Le Rouge.”

“The one in the hoodie walking down the dock right now?” Judy asked, leaning over the dashboard.

“Uh huh,” Nick answered. “Kris, have you ever seen that red panda before?” Nick turned toward the back and held the binoculars up to the cage so the otter could use them.

She peeked out onto the docks. There was a red panda in a black hoodie and a fanny pack talking to a few workers.

“No,” she said curtly. “Is he the guy who knows my ex?”

“I suspect they’re associates and…” Nick was cut off when Kris tried opening the car door. “What are you doing?”

“I want to go talk to him!” she complained.

“That wasn’t the deal,” Nick said. “We wait here until…”

“Nick! Nick!” Judy’s voice interrupted her partner and he turned around. Judy had grabbed the binoculars and was looking at the red panda. “There’s two mammals with purple flower pins heading towards him.”

“Really now?” he peeked through the windshield.

“I’m going to go see if I can hear what they’re saying. Keep an eye on them.”

Judy exited the car and scampered her way through the foliage, darting between buildings, doing her best to avoid detection. Once the bunny got close enough, she raised her ears toward her targets, able to make out what they were saying despite the rain thrumming on the metal roof. Peeking around the corner, she saw a cheetah in a dark track suit and what looked like a hamster in a red shirt join riding on the feline’s shoulder approach Le Rouge.

“Ah, my dearest gentlemammals. Right on time,” Le Rouge clicked his tongue.

The hamster was the one to speak up. “Got what the Boss wants?”

“Ho-ho-ho. Who do you think I am? I always deliver.” Le Rouge scoffed, fetching a particular small package from an adjacent cargo stack and held it up. “Only the finest of ingredients for the most exquisite of tastes.”

The cheetah bent down to accept the package and lifted it to his shoulder. The hamster appraised the contents before closing the package. “Boss sends his regards. Payment will be in the usual place.”

“Do tell my friend to enjoy,” the red panda said with a small bow.

“Move it, Kibbs. I hate the rain,” the hamster ordered the cheetah who merely grunted back.

Judy quickly raced back to the cruiser. The bunny reached the car in record time and hopped in, shaking herself inside.

“Find out anything?” Nick asked.

“I’m not sure. They were talking about delivering ingredients of some kind to their boss,” she said.

“Boss, huh?” Nick was still tracking them with the binoculars. “They’re getting into a car. Let’s follow them.”

Judy immediately put the cruiser in reverse and merged back onto the main road, keeping a fair distance away from the gray ordinary-looking sedan that the two mammals were driving. Nick kept an eye on the vehicle, making sure they didn’t lose sight of them even with heavier traffic and changing traffic lights.

As they followed, Nick grabbed the comm to run the vehicle’s plate. “Dispatch, this is Z-240, requesting a plate check.”

“10-4, Z-240, go ahead,” Clawhauser answered.

“We have a medium-sized gray sedan. Plate is two, golf, alpha, tango, one, two, three.”

There was a short pause before Clawhauser spoke again. “Vehicle is registered to a cheetah named Jonah Kibbly. Previously convicted of multiple misdemeanors. Over.”

“A couple priors, huh? Thanks, Dispatch! Z-240 out,” Nick said and returned the comm to the dashboard and turned to Judy. “Now, let’s see if our Mr. Kibbly is up to no good.”

Judy shot her partner a smirk. They entered Downtown and were traveling east along Hill Street. Soon they entered a modest yet fairly deserted neighborhood where the general vehicle and foot traffic was light for the time of day.

The cheetah pulled into a metered parking spot while Judy pulled over by the side of a building across the street. The feline didn’t even bother to put a coin into the meter as he walked down the sidewalk, making the bunny officer groan.

“I know, Carrots. But we have bigger fish to fry,” Nick winked at her. Judy merely stuck her tongue out at her partner.

The cheetah walked a short distance to a nearby restaurant with a faded sign that had the words ‘Goatsteau’s’ scratched out. The restaurant didn’t appear open yet but all the lights were on. He knocked a particular pattern on the door and was soon greeted by a scrappy-looking weasel with a chef’s hat and apron. They noticed an identical purple flower lapel was pinned to his messy shirt. The package was exchanged and the hamster hopped down, going inside with the weasel. The cheetah silently turned around and left the way he came, heading back to his vehicle and drove away.

“Cooking ingredients, huh?” Nick puffed out an air of disappointment. “Guess this is a wash.”

Judy had grabbed the binoculars again, looking through the restaurant’s windows. “There’s some sort of glass tank next to the kitchen. I can’t really see it and someone’s sitting at a table on the second floor.”

“Come again?” Nick sat up and tried to make out the details.

“Second window from the right,” Judy said, handing over the binoculars.

Nick could see what looked like a medium-sized predator happily eating away at some early dinner. It looked like a wolverine in a rather tacky blue suit. The officer lingered on the suspect for a minute - something about him was vaguely familiar. Shrugging, he then moved down to the first floor to look at the tank Judy mentioned.

Having a better viewing angle on the tank from his seat, Nick leaned over and noticed there were fish inside. They were small and dark with shimmering scales. He suddenly recalled the photo of the halofish that Jacques had provided. _Now wait a minute… Dozen small fish, fancy scales, bunch of goons with flower lapels? Those might be the missing fish!_

When the realization dawned, the fox officer aimed the binoculars at the window with the dining mammal first for their ride-along guest. “Kris. Is this the guy?”

After taking a peek, it only took half a second before Kris went ballistic. “Jack! That’s him! That piece of… Let me out of here!” she banged on the cage bars.

“Kris... this is very important. Look over here and tell me what you see,” Nick said calmly but with a tone of authority. He moved the binoculars over and pointed them in the direction of the tank.

With heavy breathing, the otter scooted over and forced herself to look again. “Those are… OUR FISH!” she shouted.

Nick snapped the binoculars away from Kris. She continued to make a ruckus anyway.

“Kris, please calm down… We’re going to get them back,” Judy grabbed the comm from the dash. “Z-240 to Dispatch. Come in, Clawhauser.”

“This is Dispatch, Officer Hopps. Reading you loud and clear.”

“Clawhauser we have a 10-99. We found the stolen fish from the aquarium. Three suspects spotted; a weasel in a chef uniform, a wolverine in a blue suit, and a hamster in a red shirt in a restaurant named Goatsteau’s on 4059…”

“Hill and Colony,” Nick supplied, grabbing his gear.

“4059 Hill Street near Colony. Requesting backup. Over.”

“10-4 Officer Hopps. Officers Fangmeyer and Grizzoli are en route. Over.”

“Copy that, Clawhauser.”

It didn’t take long for Kris to pipe up again. “Aren’t you two going to do something?”

“We need to wait for backup, Kris,” Judy replied calmly. “I don’t think that…”

“Oh my god!” Nick exclaimed. He was checking the scene again with the binoculars.

“What is it?” Judy asked, turning to face him.

“I take back what I said about bigger fish to fry… weasel chef just snagged one of them out of the tank.”

“They’re cooking the fish!?” Judy gasped, standing up in her seat.

“Let me out! Let me out! LET ME OUT!” Kris shrieked.

“We need to get in there and stop them,” Judy said.

“What? What about back up?” Nick asked.

“You can’t just sit here and do nothing! That’s our life’s work!” Kris yelled.

“Nick, it’ll be okay. I have a plan. Kris, you’ll need to stay here,” Judy said and exited the vehicle. Nick gladly did as well to get away from the screeching otter.

Outside, they could still hear the muffled cries of one angry otter coming from inside the cruiser.

“You did make sure it’s locked, right?” Nick asked anxiously.

“Officer Hopps to Dispatch,” Judy said shaking her head, keying her paw-held radio. “Clawhauser. Nick and I need to go in. Repeat, we’re going in.”

“What’s the lowdown?” Nick asked as they crept up to the side of the building, remaining out of sight.

“I’ll go in the back and stop that weasel. Think you can handle the wolverine?”

“I got this,” Nick said, formulating his own plan. “Watch out for that hamster. We haven’t seen him since he went inside.” He gently placed a paw on Judy’s shoulder. “And be careful.”

The bunny officer smiled and pulled her partner down for a good luck peck on the cheek. “You too.” And then she was gone.

With a quick deep breath, Officer Wilde turned the corner and checked the handle on the door. Finding it unlocked, he casually strolled inside.

* * *

A small brass bell above the door announced the fox’s arrival. Nick’s eyes immediately landed on the fish tank across the room, next to a door with a small porthole. He surveyed the empty wooden tables, following the stairs located in the back up to the dining wolverine, who suddenly stopped mid-meal, putting his utensils down in an orderly fashion, and stood up.

The taller stocky mammal was wearing a pink patterned shirt under a dark blue suit with a very large daisy-like flower pinned to his right breast. His left paw was clutching a gold-tipped cane. Revealing long and deadly claws, he scratched a thick, darkened snout against his well-manicured brown fur with matching eyes that wielded an air of superiority.

Both mammals paused as they gave each other a once-over. Nick’s brow nearly rose when the wolverine began to laugh. A boisterous hearty laugh that echoed throughout the entire building.

“My, my. There’s a muzzle I haven’t seen in ages. Look at you, Nicky. A regular ranger scout in blue. Who would have known you’d join the right side of the law? Quite the upgrade from your usual haute couture,” the wolverine grinned.

Nick allowed a casual smirk to cross his face, despite his surprise at who Kris’s ex-boyfriend turned out to be. “Jack. Wish I could say the same. Little early for Zoolloween, don’t you think?”

Another laugh roared from Jack. “Ah, how I missed that sassy tongue of yours. But you must know… Jack is no more, my friend,” he began with a small bow. “You can call me… Chuckles.”

“Alright, Chuck. What’s a mammal gotta do to get a bite around here? Do I need to wait for a host or is it self-seating?” Nick gestured to the open tables.

“Unfortunately, my dear old friend, we are regretfully closed,” Chuckles informed him, leaning forward on his cane with both paws.

“Really? I didn’t see a closed sign, the lights are on, and the door is open. And you made the place look so inviting, I just had to stop in,” he shot an obvious glance to the fish. “Patrolling really makes a guy hungry. How about it for old time’s sake?”

The squeaky sound of the kitchen door swinging open made both mammals pause to see the scruffy weasel chef casting an ominous stare in the officer’s direction, gripping a large fillet knife in his left paw. He glanced up to Chuckles with an expectant look in his eyes.

With a nonchalant wave, Chuckles simply dismissed the weasel away who replied with a nod and disappeared back into the kitchen. “As you can see, Nicky… my personal poissonier is done for the night. I’m afraid dinner is no longer being served. My sincerest apologies.”

“Just my luck. You don’t mind if I stretch the ol’ legs a bit, right?” Nick replied, brushing him off. He pulled out a seat, turned it around and sat down, crossing his arms on the top rail. He looked around once more. An opened box sitting on a table next to the stairs revealed a stack of flyers advertising a new development titled Sequoia Towers. “I take it Mr. Big is expanding his enterprise?”

The wolverine chuckled, strolling over to the railing and spread his arms wide. “This is all mine. I swooped in and took the land when I gave the previous owner an offer he couldn’t refuse,” he boasted. “I have a very keen sense for real estate.”

 _Swooping in to take the land, huh?_ Before he could comment, Nick spotted a small movement from the corner of his eye. Judy was peeking through the kitchen porthole, giving him a thumbs up. She then pointed to the right and up toward the wolverine. Nick kept his eyes on Chuckles and pretended to scratch his neck, flashing her a sign of acknowledgment. His partner smiled and hopped away.

“Boy, doesn’t everybody these days. You should try investing in Little R. I know some self-proclaimed real estate barons I can put you in touch with,” Nick quipped.

“Hah. You always did have a repertoire for making connections, Nicky. I would value having a savvy mammal such as yourself on my advisory board. We only allow mammals of proven pecuniary entrepreneurship to join. I guarantee the pay for your esteemed service in law enforcement is… how shall I say it in your terms? Chump change.”

Pretending to consider the offer, Nick stood and paced around his seat, stalling for time as long as he could. He finally turned to face Chuckles with a feigned look of glee on his muzzle. “Exclusive membership to an all-important elite group of haughty masterminds where we hold paws and sing kumbaya? Sounds like my kind of crowd. Where do I sign up?” the fox officer said with a sarcastic tone, clasping both paws dramatically near his cheek.

Chuckles laughed once again, appearing unfazed by Nick’s running mouth and theatrics. Behind him, Judy managed to sneak up the stairs to the second floor as she approached the unsuspecting wolverine from underneath the tables, quickly moving from one table to the next as she closed the distance. She made brief eye-contact with Nick and held up a pair of cuffs.

Finishing laughing, Chuckles took a step closer against the railing. “Always the charming raconteur. You’ll fit in more than you think. I know the kind of fox you are. Old habits die hard.”

“Sorry. Did I give the impression that I was serious? My bad. I’ll have to pass on that offer. You know what they say; when it sounds too good to be true…”

“Oh-ho? Last chance, Nicky. I do hope you seriously reconsider… Otherwise our business here is concluded. You’ll see that we do have a sign that says we reserve the right to refuse service…” Chuckles pointed with his cane. “And I will be reserving that right, officer.”

Nick stopped pacing and looked Chuckles squarely in the eyes. Judy was under the table right behind Chuckles and the wolverine remained clueless. The fox officer seized the opportunity.

“Last chance, huh?” Nick began, gesturing up to his former associate. “Listen Jack, stop me if I’m wrong… Former bigshot underling with illusions of grandeur decides, ‘Hey check me out! I’m gonna start dressing like a clown and climb the criminal ladder!’ Only to find out—whoopsie, he’s in way over his head. And that vision of becoming a big shot crime boss? Double whoopsie! He’s still nothing more than a licentious crook. And whoopsie number threesie—he just added propositioning a police officer to his list of crimes. And soon enough those crimes are going to land him behind bars and our wannabe criminal mastermind sinks into denial, sharing a rickety bunk and a dirty toilet with another fellow lowlife until he finally realizes he should make better life choices and run back home to mommy with his tail between his legs to become… What were you before being in Big’s gang? A street performer? Did I miss anything?”

Even Chuckles couldn’t immediately laugh at Nick’s piercing words as the wolverine appeared visibly peeved, unable to stop baring his fangs at the fox officer. He dropped one balled fist to his side while the other clutched his cane; creating claw marks on it.

A sudden metallic click surprised the wolverine and he found his paws now cuffed behind his back and a small rabbit officer standing behind him.

Judy looked up at their surprised perp. “Jack…” she paused.

“Napurr,” Nick supplied from down below, unable to contain his smug grin.

“Jack Napurr, you are under arrest.”

Hearing those words, Chuckles unexpectedly burst into his ear-grating pompous laughter, looking over his shoulder at Judy. “What an adorable little partner you have, Nicky. Did you find her in a stuffed animal bargain bin?”

Judy ignored the jab and gave Chuckles a nudge to start moving. “You’re going to jail, sir. Start moving.”

“You heard the lady, Chuck. By the way… that state-issued jewelry looks good on you. Really completes the ensemble,” Nick jabbed.

Letting his laughter die down, he grinned viciously at the doe. “You think I’m so easily caught, officers? You won’t be yanking my freedom like some bad tooth,” he said in a low voice.

Nick suspiciously narrowed his eyes at the veiled threat. “Carrots, hold up. Let me...”

Without warning, Chuckles hunched closer to Judy while discreetly wiggling his wrists and pinched one of his gold cufflinks. A cloud of green gas sprayed her in the face from the giant daisy flower pinned to his coat, throwing the unsuspecting doe into a coughing fit. With surprising agility, he spun past Judy and kicked her right over the railing.

“Judy!” Nick yelled and rushed forward, catching his partner and breaking her fall before she could sustain any injuries. He kneeled so he could put Judy down. She continued to cough as Nick cradled her against his side. “I got you.”

Able to open her eyes now, Judy’s coughing fit came under control. “Thank you, Nick. I think I’m okay.”

Their eyes shot up as Chuckles began to speak over the railing.

“Merle. Be a good rodent and remove these tasteless cuffs,” Chuckles ordered.

The missing hamster in the red shirt emerged from inside his inner coat pocket and quickly undid the cuffs using a bobby pin. He climbed up to the wolverine’s shoulder, glaring at the officers while rolling an acorn around in his mouth.

“Much better.” Wasting no time, Chuckles reached into his coat and began to draw what looked like a firearm.

With his training kicking in, Nick immediately pulled Judy to one side and reached behind his belt, quickly drawing his tranquilizer gun in record speed and fired a dart at Chuckles. The clean shot hit the wolverine center mass, between his unbuttoned coat, but unexpectedly bounced off his pink shirt and landed on the floor.

“Ha-ha. That was quite impressive!” Chuckles complimented with a golf clap, completely unfazed. He knocked on his chest with a fist. “Kevlar.”

Before Nick could grab Judy’s tranquilizer gun and aim for his head, Chuckles aimed his weapon right at the police officers.

“No, no, no…” Nick panicked. With little time for cover, the fox quickly overturned the closest table and tried to use it as cover. Judy attempted to cling to Nick to shield his torso, knowing full well she had a vest and he didn’t. Nick wrapped an arm around his smaller partner, thinking similar thoughts, and pinned Judy down, despite her resistance, on the floor as they ducked low. He knew the bullets would be able to easily penetrate the cheap wood.

The loud bang reverberated throughout the restaurant, followed by a bellow of obnoxious laughter. The fox and bunny’s eyes widened, checking each other and themselves. Nothing had happened. They peeked at Chuckles from behind cover, who continued to laugh, waving his firearm around. The end of the barrel had a small plastic pole protruding from it with a red flag reading ‘BANG’ in bold yellow letters.

“You should have seen the look on your faces! And the way you held each other! HA-HA-HA!” Chuckles tossed the fake gun down. It landed with a thud and bounced near their position. A more sinister expression grew on the wolverine’s muzzle as he reached into his coat once more and produced another firearm. “This one’s real.”

He pointed the gun at the officers before suddenly changing his aim and shot at the fish tank. The tank’s glass shattered brilliantly, sending shards flying everywhere as the water spilled onto the wooden floor, carrying the poor halofish with it.

“Au revoir, officers!” he yelled, laughing, and jumped out one of the windows with Merle, bounding his way down the building’s fire escape.

“Nick! He’s getting away!” Judy shouted, quickly hopping to her feet. She watched the flapping fish bouncing around on the floor. “Oh no… We have to do something! Can you help these fish?”

“What?” he uttered, looking at his partner in complete disbelief.

“I’ll go after Chuckles. Stay here and save these fish!” Judy ordered and ran out the front door as the small bell signaled her exit.

“Carrots! Wait!” Nick called after her but it was too late. With a growl, he stood and approached the fish, trying to catch one of them with his paws. “Hold still you bouncy filets!” He managed to catch one then realized he had no place to put it. “Ugh… what am I doing?!”

Nick dropped the fish and raced outside to the cruiser. He ran up to the back, unlocking it and swung the door open.

“What took you so long? What’s going on? Was that a gunshot? Where’s Jack?” came the torrent of questions from a very livid Kris.

The fox grabbed the smaller otter by the shoulders and gave her a light shake. “Shh-sh! Kris, I need you!”

She suddenly paused her tirade and blinked. “You do?”

“What? No… not like that! The fish! He shot the tank!” Nick pointed back with both paws.

“He WHAT?” Kris roared.

“They’re flip-flopping all over the floor! So we gotta go!”

The otter regained control of herself and the two mammals ran back inside the restaurant. Kris gasped and nearly fainted at the sight of her poor fish bouncing all over the spilled water and shattered glass.

“Kris, c’mon! What do we do?” Nick asked, trying to snap her out of it.

She looked around and saw the kitchen door. “In there! Help me!”

Bolting inside she nearly stopped and screamed when she saw the weasel chef cuffed and out cold on the floor and a gutted dwarf halofish laying on the kitchen counter-top. Nick was forced into a skidding stop right behind her and then saw the sleeping perp and fresh filet. Next to the fish’s body was the delivered package containing expensive condiments and spices.

“Don’t worry about him or the fish. Tell me what to do!” he said, putting a paw on her shoulder.

“Okay… okay… We don’t have much time,” Kris muttered with heavy breathes. Searching the kitchen, she spied a large sink with a stepping stool next to it. “Help me look for some sea salt and bring me as many buckets or large pots as you can find.” She reached into her pocket, unlocked her phone and jammed it into Nick’s paws. “But first, call Will’s cell; tell him to bring a portable saltwater tank! Go pick up the fish, keep them wet, and bring them in here!”

With no time to spare, Nick immediately searched through the contacts and dialed Will. Lodging the phone between his neck and shoulder, he frantically grabbed a large pot and ran back into the main dining area where the fish were still bouncing on the floor as Will answered the call.

“Will, ol’ pal... Yes, I know I’m not Kris… It’s Officer Wilde. Listen, we found the fish. Yes, yes, I know that’s totally radical… But they’re out of the water. Kris needs you to bring some sort of portable saltwater tank thingy pronto… Yes, yes… I’ll send a ride to get you. Right. Bye!”

Nick noticed there was still some water pooled at the bottom of the shattered tank. He attempted to drain the water into the pot and began scooping up the fish to carry them back into the makeshift aquarium. He managed to get all of the fish into the pot, making sure they were all wet, and dragged the heavy pot next to Kris.

Now Nick was on the hunt for the sea salt. The fox quickly dashed from pantry to pantry with no luck. He swung the last remaining pantry open, finding the salt. “Aha!” He grabbed as many sea salt containers as he could carry in his arms and hurried over to where Kris was.

Kris was flinging open every drawer and cabinet, searching for a few critical makeshift tools. She managed to find a large soup stirrer, a thermometer, and an electronic mixer to substitute for an aquarium powerhead. Finding at least one large metal pot that she could lift, Kris placed it on a stove that was next to the sink and began filling it with water from the extendable faucet. Once it was full to an acceptable level, she placed the thermometer inside to record the temperature, then turned the stove on, to start heating the water to seventy-two degrees Fahrenheit and maintain that temperature.

Nick ran by and dumped all the salt containers on the counter next to her and sprinted away, hunting for more pots while he radioed Clawhauser to send Fangmeyer and Grizzoli to Judy’s location and send another patrol car to pick up Will at the aquarium and bring him to his current location ASAP. Clawhauser informed Nick that Judy just radioed him and was currently in pursuit of their suspect.

With the water slowly heating, Kris took the mixer and turned it on inside the water to create some turbulence on the surface; to maximize gas exchange and aerate the water. Lastly, she took the sea salt and poured it into the water to mix.

As Nick finished the radio call, he dragged a few more pots and buckets over to Kris. Just as he brought over the last pot, his police radio began to crackle.

* * *

Judy raced through the alleyway, jumping over several trash cans that Chuckles was leaving behind as obstacles in her path, laughing the entire way. The wolverine was surprisingly agile and fit. He darted across an intersection with no regard to traffic, causing several cars to slam their brakes to avoid hitting the escaping mammal. The bunny leaped over each one in hot pursuit. Judy felt a faint dizziness creep into her, nearly causing the bunny to stumble but she grit her teeth and shook it off.

Grabbing her radio, she began to update her location. “Officer Hopps to Dispatch. I have a 10-32. Suspect fleeing on foot. Brown wolverine in a dark blue suit with a hamster in a red shirt heading down East Hill Street toward Doves.”

“10-4 Officer Hopps. Officers Fangmeyer and Grizzoli five minutes to intercept. Over.”

Chuckles leaped over a row of shrubs, dashing through a small neighborhood park between the legs of several large mammals. He looked back to see Judy maintaining pace with him.

“Stop! Stop in the name of the law!”

“Persistent little flatfoot, aren’t you?” he cackled.

The chase continued out of the park and into another alley where Chuckles scaled a small fence. Judy was able to jump the entire thing in one leap. Landing near her target, she went for a tackle. Chuckles pivoted out of the way, forcing Judy to parkour off a building wall. Another wave of dizziness struck, this time more intense than before, causing Judy to nearly trip and lose ground.

“Oh… so close, little doe,” he taunted. “Can’t catch the wolverine by the toe!”

The pursuit continued onto the sidewalk. Chuckles looked to be making a turn onto the next street. Judy pushed herself harder, picking up speed, and leapt onto the street sign, launching herself into the air. She sailed through the air about to land onto the back of the wolverine when he skid to a stop, causing the bunny to land and tuck into a roll on the concrete. Chuckles used the opportunity to dash through a Cattlelac dealer lot, ducking underneath larger mammal cars as cover.

“Maybe when pigs fly, officer!” he giggled at her misfortune.

Judy didn’t quit as the two emerged on the other side of the lot, now running down a new street.

“Dispatch,” Judy relayed, her breathing becoming much heavier. “Suspect… suspect is now fleeing south on… on Covey.”

A large public transportation bus was loading passengers up ahead. As the bus began to move and merge into traffic, Chuckles’ lead allowed him to hop onto the back bumper to hitch a ride. He arrogantly waved at the rabbit officer as the gap widened between them.

“Oh no…” she keyed up the mic on her radio. “Dispatch. Suspect is on a ZTA city bus… number fifty-two, turning west on Bevy Avenue. I’m losing him.”

This time a different voice came in through the comm. “Carrots. I know that route. You’ll see a Goat-To-Guys and a Fresh Doe Bakery on your right. Take that alley…”

Chuckles watched as he lost sight of the unrelenting pesky rabbit with a smirk. The bus traveled a short distance then slowed to pull in for another stop. He jumped ready to disappear into the crowd when a roaring grunt caught him off guard as Judy jump-kicked him. The wolverine fell but managed to quickly recover.

Drawing her tranq gun, Judy went for a shot, struggling to keep her aim steady. Chuckles used the small window of opportunity to charge the smaller rabbit, closing the gap, and slashed at her with his claws.

Judy was forced to dodge backwards as Chuckles slashed the weapon out of her paw. The exertion caused her to stumble to one knee as the dizziness returned and the bunny’s vision began to blur. _What’s going on? Get up, Judy… Get. Up!_

Watching her falter, a vicious grin formed on Chuckles’ muzzle when he noticed a nearby crosswalk signal turn green and a very large herd of wildebeest began to cross. He kicked Judy’s gun away and ran towards the bleating mammals, shoving both paws into his coat, bringing out his gun and Merle.

“Wha… what is it, Boss?” the small surprised hamster squeaked.

“Merle, I have one last job for you,” Chuckles said, baring his fangs. He aimed his gun upwards, above the herd. “Consider your debt paid.”

He fired the gun repeatedly, inciting a massive panic. The herd, along with several other mammals, stampeded in fright in all directions. Chuckles punched Merle in his small chubby gut, winding the hamster and then chucked him directly into the coming onslaught of hooves and paws.

Judy managed to get back on her feet just in time to witness the atrocious act. Chuckles stared directly at her with an insidious smile. “What’s it gonna be, officer?” He stepped back and then darted away amongst the uproar, laughing in delight.

Unable to move, Merle screamed as hooves crashed all around him. Judy looked to the escaping wolverine, then to Merle, back to Chuckles again and then back to Merle. She forced herself forward, feeling her energy draining and vision fading. With one final push, she dashed to the vulnerable rodent and scooped him up, hopping side to side as she dodged being stomped from every angle. She felt herself collapsing as she made one final dive, clutching Merle tightly before everything went black.

Everything felt peaceful and quiet. A small buzz of various noises came from all around as the sounds steadily grew louder, forming into a cacophony of chatter and horns.

“Hey, back off! That’s my partner over there! No crowding folks. Police officer coming through.”

Judy’s eyes fluttered open to reveal several colorful blobs before her eyes started to focus against the bright sunlight, looking directly for the source of the familiar voice as Nick’s blurry red silhouette formed into the face she loved to see, even if he had a complete worried look on it right now. She also noticed that there was something perched on his shoulder. It was the hamster, Merle. Behind them she could hear the voices of Francine and McHorn getting the crowds under control.

“What happened?” she spoke weakly, attempting to sit up but then winced at the pain.

“Hey, hey… easy there!” Nick spoke softly, placing his paw behind her back for support. “You were out for a little while. One of those hooves came down and hit you pretty hard. Luckily your vest took most of the impact. The EMT’s are on their way.”

She placed a paw across Nick’s cheek and held it. She noticed a few large scuffs on her vest from the impact of the hooves. Judy’s gaze then turned to Merle who had remained quiet the entire time thus far. “I’m glad to see you’re okay, Merle.”

He shied away in shame, unable to speak.

“Wait. What about Chuckles?”

“Gone. Merle here used your radio to tell Clawhauser what happened and where he last saw Chuckles going. When Chief Buffalo Butt got word… think he pulled almost every cop in the city off their assignments and on a mammal hunt for him right now.”

Judy felt a little embarrassed that Bogo did that for her. She then remembered the halofish. “And the fish?”

“Can you believe Kris managed to keep most of them alive, MacGopher style? It was pretty impressive! Wolfard and Delgato brought Will and Jacques to the restaurant in time with some portable tanks.”

The bunny closed her eyes with a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness!”

Even though their culprit got away from her, the disappointed officer told herself to look at the bright side. The fish were recovered, hopefully the aquarium would be okay, the suspected employees were innocent, and she saved a mammal’s life. If Chuckles did manage to escape the city-wide mammal hunt, Judy felt determined to promise to track down the wolverine and eventually arrest him.

Nick’s police radio began to buzz, interrupting her introspective moment. “Dispatch to Officer Wilde. Come in, over.”

“Wilde here. Go ahead Claws,” he replied.

“Officer Grizzoli is requesting contact. Patching you in now. Standby.”

“Roger that,” he keyed the mic and waited.

“Hey, Wilde. Got something for you and Hopps,” the white timberwolf said proudly. Grizzoli kept the channel open and a long string of colorful insults along with crazed laughter could be heard in the background.

“Watch the coat, it’s worth more than you, Tigger! I said watch it! You think your jail will hold me! One day I’ll own this city…”

“Well, speak of the devil,” Nick smirked. “That wouldn’t happen to be our deranged, maniacal, overly-musky friend who dresses like a reject from a Victorian thrift store, would it Grizz?”

Grizzoli nearly howled with laughter. “The one and only. Fangmeyer is getting him into our cruiser.”

“Good. Good. Tell Steph to handle that one with extra special care for me,” Nick said.

“10-4 buddy. Tell Judy we’re glad to hear she’s okay,” Grizzoli said.

“That’s a solid copy,” he said and turned to Judy. “You got that, right?”

The bunny nodded and slumped her head against her partner’s chest.

“Say, Officer Hopps.” Both Nick and Judy turned to face Merle. “I just wanted to say thanks… for saying my life.”

“You’re welcome, Merle,” Judy smiled. “It’s what we do at the ZPD.”

“Listen… I owed him a debt. I’m no rat… but I’ll tell you everything I know.”

Soon the approaching sirens of a Medical bus could be heard down the street as vehicles pulled over to the curb to allow the EMTs to park and come rushing over to check on Judy.

* * *

Judy and Nick entered the lobby of the Zootopia Marine Life Aquarium after being allowed to bypass the long line of mammals gathered outside, waiting for the doors to open. Several large banners hung from the skylights, advertising the grand reopening of the Pawcific Ocean Exhibit. The employees had worked hard in making sure the Dwarf halofish were healthy and reintroduced them back into their habitat with great care.

The press had gotten hold of the case, following the arrest of Chuckles, and it went viral on social media and news websites, garnering a huge turnout for opening day. Jacques was both excited and relieved; excited for the huge crowd of mammals and relieved to learn that his staff was innocent when Merle sang like a bird in return for Judy saving his life.

The hamster confirmed Chuckles’ plan to buy the land and revealed how he had pegged Kris as the perfect target, learning about the aquarium and its employees by dating her, and how he had been the one aiding the wolverine when he snatched Philip’s binky and swapped Victor’s pills while Chuckles distracted them. Merle confessed the wily wolverine did, in fact, enter through the pipes, plant Kris’ fur, and made off with the fish.

The older otter had begged Chief Bogo to at least allow the heroic officers a few hours to come see the grand reopening, to which the gruff cape buffalo reluctantly agreed.

Once inside, the hippo from the general information booth called Jacques to let him know his special guests had arrived.The otter gathered his staff to come greet the two officers.

“Ahoy, my wonderful officers! I’m so glad you could make it!” Jacques said as he fiercely hugged them both, as Will, Kris, Philip, and Victor applauded them.

“Aw, thank you all so much,” Judy said with an overflowing look of joy in her eyes.

“Come, come… let me show you the fruits of your hard work!” the director said, leading them to the exhibit. “It is only fitting you both get to be the first to see it before the public.”

Making their way toward the back of the aquarium, Judy and Nick followed the group to the tank. Kris had glanced back to ogle Nick, only to notice the pair holding paws and how they would look at each other. She turned around to hide her frown, only to soften and release a sigh of disappointment. When they arrived, the group stood in awe, watching the decorated tank, brilliantly lit and showcasing the shimmering rings of the dwarf halofish gliding through the water. It was beautiful and mesmerizing.

“This would not have been possible without you! Thank you again, from all us!”

“Our pleasure, sir,” Nick said.

“We must finish preparing for our opening but please feel free to explore till your heart’s content and if there is anything you need, just ask,” Jacques said warmly.

The staff smiled and hurried back to their tasks. After spending some time watching the halofish, the fox and bunny moved around, exploring several more exhibits in the quiet comfort, enjoying some teasing and flirting. Judy and Nick found a different petting tank, where they enjoyed touching the sea animals together which lead to a minor splashing battle despite there being a warning sign that said no splashing. Afterwards, they were studying one of the shark tanks, watching several tiger sharks swim about their recreated habitat.

Judy was leaning against Nick while he had an arm around her shoulder. There was no stopping his wagging tail till he felt a sudden caressing motion.

“I can’t blame you. It is irresistible, isn’t it?” he smirked.

“What is?” Judy asked innocently.

“What do you mean what is? I can feel you touching my… Oh no…” Nick’s eyes widened in realization.

They both cautiously looked over their respective shoulders to find a very familiar red octopus completely enthralled with Nick’s bushy tail once more.

“Don’t move, Nick! I’ll go get Will,” Judy whispered, trying to slowly slink away.

“What? You’re going to leave me here with this thing?” Nick pleaded with both palms out.

“It’ll be fine! Just don’t scare him!”

“Will! Will! Will!” Nick shouted in a hushed tone, hoping his twinsie would somehow hear his cry for help.

Judy heard a pair of rushing footsteps and soon, a net came down on the unsuspecting octopus as Will and Kris arrived to recapture him.

“My dude! You really are a lucky charm, officer. I should totally ask boss mammal to have you come around every time he gets out” Will laughed hysterically.

“Think I’ll pass on that deal. Hank and I don’t have that kind of a relationship,” Nick said, brushing his violated tail.

“Hank?” the beaver asked.

“He’s always ‘hankering’ to escape!” Nick replied with a smirk, looking proud. Judy facepalmed with both paws and shook her head.

“I dig it! Ya hear that, Hank? Let’s get you back into your tank, dude. Thanks again, officers!” Will waved as he took Hank back to his rightful home.

Kris stayed behind, paws clasped with a sincere smile on her muzzle. “I really wanted to thank you both for saving the aquarium and putting that fu… _jerk_ in jail.”

“Of course, Kris,” Judy smiled back.

“I’ll leave you two be. Be sure to check that habitat there,” she pointed. “It’s one of my favorites.”

The otter drew closer, hugging Judy and then hugging Nick, who appeared a little uncomfortable at the lingering gesture. “You’re a lucky mammal, Judy. This one’s a keeper. But if you ever let him go, Iet me know!” Kris said with a slow wink before leaving the two of them alone.

Judy couldn’t help but frown ever so slightly and cross her arms after Kris turned around. It was enough to irritate the bruising on her torso and cause her to wince.

“Easy there, Carrots,” Nick said gently, rubbing her side.

“I know she meant that in jest but she better keep her eyes off you unless she wants to find a nice little surprise on her windshield,” Judy smirked.

Nick considered her words. “You mean…”

“She’s the one with all the unpaid parking tickets.”

This elicited a hearty laugh from Nick as he and Judy strolled over to the next exhibit. He noticed Judy rubbing her side again.

“Want me to carry you?”

The bunny smiled at her boyfriend. “I’ll be fine, really. Overprotective fox.”

“I _am_ a keeper after all,” Nick said, confidently adjusting his tie.

Judy tugged Nick down so that she could plant a long soft kiss on his cheek. “Yes, you are!”

They shared a smile and quietly returned to watching several schools of brightly colored tropical fish swim around a reef. A trio of fish emerged from a small anemone that caught Judy’s attention.

“Oh Nick, look!” Nick turned his attention to a pair of clownfish and a blue tang swimming together. The three fish kept close to one another and swam near the glass in front of Judy and Nick. “They look so cute together.”

“That they do,” he agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey readers. Long overdue update, despite that - I hope it’s an enjoyable read. Originally this humor-based Crime Files-esque case chapter began with a silly idea and two intended Crime Files cameos (Kris and Chuckles) before it ballooned to six and grew in scope! I thought about chopping it into three parts but decided to release it in full as a single chapter instead.
> 
> Big thanks to my usual editor Anistuffs and special thanks to Cimar of Turalis Wildehopps, Starfang’s Secrets, and Zeronone for helping with a few scenes and ideas. They are all great authors - be sure to give their stories a read! 
> 
> On a final note, the official cover art (by yours truly as well) is complete and it is embedded in chapter 1 on AO3. The full piece can be seen on deviantart under my username “animemagix”. Or direct URL at: https://animemagix.deviantart.com/art/Zootopia-TTB-Fanfic-Cover-690155781
> 
> Also, work will begin on revising the first half of the story, keeping the core, but adding to it and being more polished. I promise nothing will be George Lucas'ed. :)
> 
> As always thank you for the all the kudos, favs, comments and reviews! See you next chapter!


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